


"I surrender."

by falliamridley



Category: Dynasty (TV 2017)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Porn With Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:13:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 66,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25691125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falliamridley/pseuds/falliamridley
Summary: A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, but it sure as hell can be torture, as Fallon and Liam are about to discover.
Relationships: Fallon Carrington/Liam Ridley
Comments: 116
Kudos: 202





	1. Saturday

**Author's Note:**

> For the love of god, read the rating cos this is about to get smutty.

It all started on a quiet Saturday evening in the summer; for a change, Fallon and Liam had no plans – well they _were_ invited to a business party for CA but they had declined, realising that the whole manor would attend, leaving them with the place to themselves for the whole night.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity to grab a bottle of expensive champagne and fool around in the jacuzzi. Which is exactly what they were doing, until Sam showed up, back home early from his date with his ex-husband/ current boyfriend and interrupted the couple’s evening.

“Hey, guys,” He shouts, only metres away from them, a hand covering his eyes to shield him from being traumatised for life, “can you please stop whatever you’re doing right now, I really need some advice.”

Fallon, straddling Liam’s lap and being the only one with a free mouth to speak right now considering Liam’s is attached to her neck, glances up and sighs at the sight of her friend hovering at the edge of the pool.

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” She shouts back, “We’re kind of in the middle of something here.” To further illustrate that point, Liam’s hand slips over her ass cheek and squeezes, a signal that he wants more of her, and _god_ she wants that too, which is exactly why Sam needs to get lost. Right. Now.

“No,” His voice is demanding, clipped, unrelenting, “it can’t wait so you better get less naked because I’m coming over there right now.”

“Oh for the love of god,” she mutters under her breath, rolling her eyes, and begins to climb off of Liam, but his strong hands keep her in place, the assault on her neck continuing.

“Liam!” She can’t help the giggle that escapes her lips as his wandering fingers begin to pull on the string of her black bikini top, she’s pretty sure that he’s so lost in what he’s doing that he hasn’t actually noticed the exchange going on between her and Sam yet, so it takes pulling firmly on his hair she has her fingers carded through to get him to detach his lips from her skin.

When his eyes meet hers and she drinks in his dark eyes – his pupils dilated, and his pink, kiss swollen lips, the sight of which sends a bolt of pleasure directly to her core, she almost just dives straight back in; if Sam was going to be insistent about being here, then he was welcome to witness the show. But Liam must have seen Sam approaching the jacuzzi out of his peripheral vision and his mind catches up with the voices his ears had heard but his brain hadn’t yet registered because he freezes for a second, his expression looking all adorably panicked before allowing Fallon to move to sit at his side.

“Oh, hey Sam, what’s up?” He says, his tone suddenly casual as he stretches his arms out, his right hand circling around Fallon’s back, pulling her in closer to him once she re-ties the knot of her bikini. She takes it upon herself to throw her legs over his crotch to hide the very visible hardened bulge under Liam’s red swim shorts.

“He needs our advice,” She says to him, her tone flat, making sure her disapproval of Sam's interruption was known, “apparently.”

Once Sam reaches the couple he sits on the edge, twisting his body so that he can face them. It’s only now that Fallon can truly see how dejected he looks – and for a brief moment feels a little guilty for not being more welcoming to her friend who was clearly in need.

“You look moody, did you break up with Ryan again?” Her question causes Sam to roll his eyes, appearing somewhat offended.

“No.” He responds, defensively, “We’re doing fine. Mostly… Sort of.”

Instinctively, Fallon and Liam throw each other a quick glance, confirming that neither of them believes that things were ‘doing just fine’ with Sam and his new beau.

“Really?” Liam asks in a disbelieving manner, attempting to coax Sam into letting out whatever was clearly playing on his mind. The hotel owner looks uncomfortable for a moment as he thinks, as if he’s weighing up the pros and cons of divulging his mind, and Fallon’s patience is beginning to wear thin because _why_ insist on needing advice and interrupting them if he was only going to sit there looking sorry for himself?

“Oh my god Sam, just spit it out.” She blurts out.

“Fal-“ Liam begins chastising her for her lack of patience, but her outburst clearly works when Sam interrupts them.

“Can I ask you both a question?”

Liam nods, encouragingly. “Sure.”

Sam’s eyes are glued to the water directly below him, his head hanging low, unable to look them in the eyes. “At what point in your relationship did you guys… stop…”

“Stop?” She draws out the vowel in the word, urging him to continue with his question. 

“You know, having as much sex?” Sam practically mumbles that last part, before sighing and _finally_ looking up at the couple, only to be met with confused expressions from the two of them.

“What do you mean?” Liam asks.

“Well, you two have been together for a while now, surely you don’t have as much sex as you did when you first got together and things have slowed down…” The couple throws each other another glance, this time, with smirks playing at their lips. “Or, you do?”

“I mean, I don’t exactly have a chart but I don’t think there’s a huge difference,” Liam responds, the amusement evident in his voice.

If Sam didn’t look miserable before – he certainly does now, his large brown eyes appearing sadder by the second.

“Sam, exactly how much slower are we talking here?” Fallon asks, wondering if it’s possible that Sam is just over-exaggerating the situation.

He looks awkward, a pink blush visibly painting itself onto his cheeks, and Fallon is sure it’s not from the steam rising from the jacuzzi, “I mean we, haven’t, you know, done it in 2 weeks.”

Her jaw drops in shock, “What?!”

Sam instantly becomes defensive, his jaw tightening, recoiling slightly, his brows furrowed, “What? Why are you being so judgemental? You can’t tell me that you guys haven’t gone through at least _one_ dry spell.”

Fallon practically feels the vibrations of Liam chuckling next to her before he responds, “Sam, I’m sorry to tell you but we honestly haven’t. In fact, I’m pretty sure Fallon couldn’t even go a week without sex.”

Her eyebrows raise instantly. Apparently, it was her turn to be offended. She turns to her fiancé, the shock written on her face, her voice pitched high, “ _Excuse me,_ I’m not a nymphomaniac, I can control myself.”

She instantly wants to wipe that smug smile Liam throws her off of his face, “I never said you were, it’s just that we have great sex and I’m pretty much always available to you, so why would you _have_ to control yourself?”

She scoffs, incredulous. “You make this sound completely one-sided, need I remind you that yesterday all I did was _innocently_ bend over in front of you and you threw me over the dresser and-“

“OH MY GOD.” Sam practically shouts, halting Fallon from continuing, “ _Please_ do not carry on that sentence in front of me. I _really_ do not need to hear the rest of that.” He throws his hands up in the air, palms facing them as if in surrender. “Jesus, I’m sorry I asked.”

“Alright, sorry,” Liam says, clearly attempting to salvage the conversation, “In all seriousness, if I were you, I wouldn’t worry. I’m sure every couple is different, and maybe there’s a reason, you know? There could be something going on with him, you should talk to him rather than comparing your relationship to others. Especially ours.”

There it is – that heart of gold her fiancé carries around with him beneath his ribcage making its presence known with his wise words of advice. It melts her, every time, reminding her of why she is _so_ in love with this man in the first place.

Without thinking about it, she leans in closer to him, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, earning her a sincere smile back.

“I agree, listen to Liam, Sam,” Fallon says, stroking her hand through Liam’s damp hair.

“Yeah,” Sam begins, “you’re probably right, I’m gonna go call him and talk. Thanks, guys.”

“Good luck,” Liam responds as his friend begins to stand and makes his way back into the manor.

“Bye Sam,” Fallon calls to him before he disappears, “Don’t come back out here for the rest of the night unless you want to see us doing what you and stripper boy currently aren’t!”

“Gross,” She hears his voice call back, “Goodnight!”

Then, silence. Except for the sound of the rippling water and the whir of the jets, it’s back to just _them._ Alone. Together.

“Alright, where were we?” Liam asks before wasting no time in grabbing her at the hips, causing her to squeal out in surprise as he easily moves her back into their previous position in the water. She’s back to being straddled over him, her arms resting over his shoulders, his fingers now wandering slowly up her back, leaving a delicious tingle in their wake. She _had_ been relishing in the feeling of her core moving against his hardened member before they were so rudely interrupted – He’s softened now since being in the presence of Sam, obviously, but that wouldn’t be an issue for much longer.

“Yeah, I think it was _something_ like this.” She breathes into the close space between them, edging herself closer to him on his lap, pressing her breasts against his bare chest. Even with the fabric of her bikini between them, the pressure elicits a shudder of pleasure that spurs her on even more. They’re on a mission now to get back to the state they were in before – all roaming hands and soft moans of pleasure. It shouldn’t take very long.

Their mouths meet in the middle, their lips sliding together easily, her hands moving to the back of his neck, angling the kiss so that she can lick her way into his mouth. It’s intense, the way they press against one another, seeking pressure, friction, _anything._ Her fingernails scrape against his back, and she moans into his mouth once he does that wicked thing he does with his tongue, practically melting against him, at his mercy. Then he takes her bottom lip between his teeth, sucking, nipping lightly, teasing. It drives her crazy.

“There’s something I’m forgetting,” He pants out once he pulls back slightly, breaking the kiss.

“And what’s that?” She asks, smirking down at him, watching him adorably tilt his head, deep in thought. 

“Oh, that was it.” He says, his voice low and sultry, meeting her eyes, a predatory smile forming on his face, “I was about to move, and let you enjoy the feel of these jets, and no, I don’t mean on your back.”

Fallon practically gulps, forgetting to breathe for a second, feeling somewhat like Liam’s prey under his hot gaze. She _really_ loves dating a writer… He’s truly a very creative thinker and the results of such were usually very, _very_ satisfactory.

“You have a wild imagination, Mr Ridley.”

“You love it.” He says, giving her a wink before using his hands on her back to pull her closer and bends slightly to kiss her breasts, moving his tongue over her still clothed nipple, drawing a sigh of contentment from her.

“Oh, yes I do.” She admits, leaning into his touch, closing her eyes, trying to enjoy the feeling. But there’s one thing still playing on Fallon’s mind and it’s stopping her from being completely in the moment.

“Were you being serious?” She asks.

He pulls back, replaces his mouth with his thumb, making circular motions, “About the jets? Yeah, babe, trust me it’ll feel good.”

“No, I don’t mean the jets.” He halts, confusion written on his face. “Do you _really_ think I couldn’t last a week without sex?”

Liam breathes out a laugh, looking back up at her, “No. I don’t think you couldn’t last a week without sex.” Satisfied with his answer, Fallon smiles, and leans down to kiss him; but those plans are derailed when Liam continues, “I _know_ you couldn’t last a week without sex.”

Her face falls.

“We’ve gone that long when you’ve been at writers retreats and I’ve been on business trips before.”

“Fallon, phone sex counts.”

“Damn,” She pouts, pondering that, “So we really haven’t ever gone a week without having sex, huh?”

Liam shakes his head, “Nope.”

Fallon shrugs, appearing nonchalant, “well, I don’t think you could last a week either.”

He raises a challenging eyebrow, letting out a chuckle, “I have _great_ self-control-“

“Liam, I can seduce in a matter of _seconds_ and have you begging me for sex. Trust me, you’re the one who wouldn’t last the week.”

He raises his chin in defiance, a sparkle in his eye, a challenging smirk on his lips, “Care to bet on it?”

Her expression mirrors his, plans already forming in her mind to ensure she would win this little bet he’s just laid out for her, “Sounds like a challenge. Alright, I’m in.”

“Seven whole days – no sex. _Unless_ one of us gives in and says ‘I surrender’.” She has to admit, that was smart – because now it wasn’t just a challenge, it was a competition to get the other person to surrender. Oh, Liam’s mind was dangerous at times. “What are we playing for?”

“Good old fashioned pride.” She responds.

“Alright,” He agrees, “we’ll need rules.”

Another good idea, this could get complex, and she wanted to win, but only if they both played fair.

“Okay, rule number 1: teasing is allowed.” She says.

“Fine. Rule number 2: sexting is allowed.”

That rule inspires an idea in her mind that could give her an edge, “Rule number 3: naughty pictures are allowed too.”

He shakes his head subtly, knowing he’s weak when it comes to her sending dirty photos, but he concedes nonetheless. “Deal. Rule number 4: we have to sleep in the same bed.”

 _Damn it,_ she thinks. That was one of her plans gone, especially considering how often she would wake in the night, all hot and bothered and draw Liam from his slumber to make love to her. She thinks quickly for something to counter him.

Almost instantly, a wicked thought strikes her that she’s _sure_ will allow her to win. “Rule number 5: you can touch yourself, but you’re not allowed to cum.”

For a split second, she can see vulnerability pass over Liam’s face, his confidence faltering, but then it’s back with his response, “Rule number 6: We can touch _each other,_ as long as we don’t make the other person cum.”

She laughs at that because there’s quite a simple solution to making sure that never becomes an issue for her, “That’s if I _let_ you touch me.”

“Oh Fallon,” He says, leaning closer, his gaze piercing into hers, his voice low, “You’ll be _begging_ me to.” Her breath hitches in her throat slightly at the thought – but she pushes it away, as hard as she can, because she admires his confidence, she really does, but thinks it will be short-lived. How hard can it be to just not touch each other in a sexual manner for 7 days? “Rule number 7: this has to be a regular week, no throwing yourself into work to distract yourself.” Oh, he knows her too well. “We still have date night, we have that dinner at my Mom’s on Thursday,”

“The fundraiser party on Saturday,” She adds.

“That too. Just a _regular_ week, but without sex. Unless one of us says ‘I surrender’.”

This was far too easy for her, it was almost unfair. “You have yourself a deal, Mr Ridley. Want to shake on it?”

“I’d rather do something else to seal the deal.” He lets go of her to reach for his phone by the side of the pool, picking it up to look at the illuminated screen before placing it back on the towels, “It’s ten thirty, what do you say we start at midnight?” He places his index finger under her chin, drawing her in and whispers seductively, “And not let this night we have planned go to waste?”

She hums her agreement, “Deal.”

Liam brings her to his lips, pressing against hers with intent, re-sparking that burning desire they felt for one another. Her hands roam, making their way down his chest, stopping at the band of his shorts.

“What was it you said about the jets?” She asks against his mouth between kisses.

He smiles against her lips and unexpectedly grabs her, taking her by surprise, switching their positions. The writer is able to move her easily through the water so that she’s now sitting in his spot, her back against the powerful jets pushing against her, Liam kneeling in front of her. Without a word, her fiancé uses his finger to motion for her to turn around and she complies, now kneeling on the ledge, Liam smug against her back to keep her in position, his arms coming around her, his fingers gripping the sides of the jacuzzi, her own hands covering his. 

“ _Oh, fuck.”_ She breathes out, understanding entirely why he had insisted on this position, because those damn jets were pushing a constant stream of water towards her pelvis, stimulating her clit, sending waves of pleasure coursing through her body.

On instinct, she leans her head against his shoulder, her back arching as if to get just a _little_ closer, she needs to increase the pressure, get more stimulation, because whilst it feels incredible, it’s nowhere enough to get her off and she’s sure that Liam knows that.

“Told you it would feel good.” He whispers into her ear, his voice husky, naturally lower with lust. It sends a shiver down her spine to hear him be so cocky – a side to him he reserves mainly for the bedroom, knowing it fuels her desires.

She practically whines when he nuzzles at that sweet spot behind her ear and places sporadic kisses against her skin there.

“Liam, I need more,” She pleads, pushing her ass against his front, grinding, feeling his own growing need, drawing a deep, guttural moan from him. She hopes it will provoke him to speed things along a little.

“Okay, sweetheart.” He says, the term of endearment a juxtaposition to the way he not-so-gently uses his strength to push her closer so that she’s practically flush against the jets. He repositions himself against her back to make sure the force of it doesn’t push her away. Then he simply tugs on the strings of her bikini bottoms at both sides, loosening them to the point that the fabric falls off into his hands and throws them carelessly over the side of the jacuzzi.

“Oh!” She screams, loudly. Somewhere it registers in the back of her mind that she’s thankful that they sent the staff home early and prays that Sam is far, far away inside the manor and can’t hear them.

“Is that better?” 

What she wants to say is, _of course, it’s better, I have a high powered jet directly stimulating my clit and it feels amazing, oh my god, thank god you thought of this, you brilliant man._ What she actually manages to say, breathlessly, is, “Yeah.”

“I thought it would be.” He says as he brings a hand up to cup her left breast, rubbing over her nipple there, causing it to harden in response.

Whilst it’s definitely _better_ it’s still not _enough,_ she squirms, seeking more as well as wanting Liam to feel just as good as she is. He must be uncomfortable by now, she can feel how hard he is – how much restraint he’s using. Maybe he would be good at this 7-day no-sex challenge after all. Then again, all it takes is for her to turn her head so that she’s looking back at him, meets his blue eyes and demands he take off his shorts and to “make love to me right here, right now, Liam,” and he’s complying without hesitation.

“Hold onto the side.” He demands, waiting for her to wrap her fingers around the tiles to keep herself still before moving backwards to undress.

His shorts join her clothing over the side of the jacuzzi, hitting the tiled floor with a wet thud. Forgotten.

Then he’s back, one hand covering hers, another on her hip, pressing close, surrounding her. _This_ was what she wanted, what she craved, and like always he takes his damn time, building the suspense, kissing at her neck, teasing her by softly grinding his hardened member against her ass, waiting for the moment she snaps and commands him. They both know Liam _loves_ it when she bosses him around like that.

“ _Liam._ ” She grits between her teeth, a warning.

“Bend over, sweetheart,” he orders into her ear.

Fallon surrenders immediately, her breasts now resting on the edge of the jacuzzi, her ass just out of the water, but still able to feel the jets working their magic and leans onto her arms. Only for him. He’s the only one she’s ever allowed to have her this vulnerable, for someone who relishes in being the one to control every situation, she had discovered with him that sometimes, it’s good to give it up to someone she trusts completely.

Liam bends with her, and presses hot kisses down her back, still torturing her with his patience.

“Come on.” She hisses out.

“Alright, alright.”

Eventually relenting, he takes his hand from her hip momentarily to guide himself forward, lines himself up, gives her one last tease by halting there.

She’s having none of it.

Taking him by surprise, she pushes her hips backwards, feels Liam slide into her in one swift move, filling her in the way she was practically pining for. She hears his sharp intake of breath in her ears, a wicked smile forming on her face as she decides that maybe it’s her turn to torture _him_ now. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse of restraint, she starts to move her hips, slow, shallow, just enough to gradually build their orgasms.

Liam’s forehead lands between her shoulder blades, taking a moment to collect himself.

“ _God,_ Fallon, you feel so good _.”_ He says, breathless.

His arms circle her waist, around her torso, his hand gripping onto her side as he snaps his hips and starts to meet her thrusts, going deeper, and deeper with each push. Her resolve begins to falter again, her control short-lived as Liam recovers and moves inside her in a way that drives her crazy with need. Wanting to be as joined with him as possible, she turns the palm of her left hand over, laces her fingers with Liam’s, squeezes hard, her peach diamond ring digging into his fingers. He doesn’t seem to mind.

For a while it’s all soft sighs, each other’s names being moaned out in desire, the two of them completely lost in each other and the sensations they’re feeling under a blanket of stars on a quiet summers night.

Until Fallon gets impatient.

“Faster.” She pants out after a few minutes, making a sound of disapproval when instead of conceding to her request, Liam pulls out completely.

It only takes her a second to understand why though when he shifts slightly, placing his foot on the ledge beside her so he can change angles, and – _“Fuck, Liam!”_ directly hits her G-Spot when he slides back in to the hilt. That, combined with the extra stimulation of the jets against her clit makes her a goner. He continues to drive into her like that, hard, deep and unrelenting, _exactly_ what she needs.

She’s already so close, she can feel the pleasure pooling in between her legs, ripples of that intense feeling of pure need surging through her body.

“Right there,” She gasps, hanging her head low between her arms, “Don’t stop.”

She’s on the edge, no going back now, only one way to go.

Liam untangles his hand from hers, threads his fingers through the hair at the base of her scalp and _tugs_ , forcing her head up. That was a particular thrill she’d only recently discovered -the tingling sensation at her scalp when she was close to orgasm, being man-handled by Liam, all of it was incredibly erotic.

“I know you’re close, Fallon,” Liam’s raspy voice utters into her ear, “it’s okay, you can let go. I’ve got you.” He tightens the grip he has on her as if to demonstrate that fact.

He thrusts once, twice, three more times and that’s it – she’s falling, drowning in pleasure, her walls clamping around his member and she squeezes her eyes shut, falling forwards, screaming his name as he works her through her orgasm, drawing out every last second of pleasure he can.

Liam holds her tight to him as her whole body begins to tremble, and she finds she has to turn in his arms, grabbing hold of his shoulders to get away from the feeling of the jets against her now overly-sensitive core. Her mouth finds his in a filthy kiss as she enjoys the aftershocks of her climax, their tongues rolling together, and she lets out a satisfied moan into his mouth.

Her fiancé walks them into the centre of the jacuzzi, away from the ledge, and she throws her legs around his hips, hooking her ankles together. Their kiss remains hot, and desperate, using it to silently thank him. Liam responds in kind, holding her close to him, kissing her like she’s his only source of oxygen.

As she slowly starts to come to her senses again, she realises why he’s still so eager, recognising the pressure pushing against her ass, and without any delicacy, rolls her hips, causing Liam to hiss when she feels his still _very_ stiff member.

Her eyes widen – she knew Liam had good self-control, but not _this_ good. She had assumed that Liam had climaxed when she had, she had been so lost in the moment she had hardly taken any notice, but clearly, he hadn’t. It was possible that this little competition they’d agreed to would be a much more even playing field than she had first expected.

“Wait, Liam, you didn’t-” She says once she pulls away from the kiss.

“I can’t cum in a jacuzzi, Fallon, that’s really unhygienic.”

“The bathtub’s fine though, huh?” She teases.

He shrugs, “Well that’s different, it’s not a communal area.”

A short laugh escapes her in response, and she decides to push her previous thoughts of the competition aside, having other more pressing priorities right now. "Only you would resist an orgasm so that you can avoid explaining to the staff why the jacuzzi needs a thorough clean." 

"Or," He says as he takes one of his hands from where they're gripping the tops of her thighs, and brings it up to brush his thumb across her bottom lip, "Maybe I just had other ideas."

She raises an eyebrow, suggestively, understanding exactly what he's implying. After all, she's already 2 steps ahead of him. Her tongue darts out, licking over the pad of his thumb, gazing at him with a sultry expression, "Tell me what you would like me to do for you," she whispers, her voice like honey, before closing her lips fully around his thumb, sliding her tongue against it, sucking hard, moaning filthily just for added effect. She can tell that he's aching for her when she feels his cock twitch in interest against her ass cheek. 

"I want you to let me cum in that pretty little mouth of yours." 

She smirks, and lets go of his thumb with a pop.

"And what else?" 

Liam flexes the hand wrapped around her thigh, squeezing momentarily and takes a deep breath before saying, "Swallow for me."

"Use your manners, Liam."

" _Please_." 

"That's better," She says before unhooking her ankles from around his back, standing on the bottom of the tiled jacuzzi floor and places her palms on his chest to push him backwards.

“Sit on the edge, Liam. Let me take care of you.” She demands, pushing him further.

He acquiesces, throwing her a smirk, and pulls himself almost completely out of the water, leaning back on his elbows. She uses her hands to push his knees far apart, spreading his legs, so that she can kneel between them on the ledge, ensuring she’s away from any of the jets whirring around them, the water just reaching the bottom of her breasts.

The look he gives her is downright dangerous, his eyes smouldering, and she decides to be somewhat kind to him, after all, he did just give her a mind-blowing orgasm and figures he must be really uncomfortable right now. This shouldn’t even take long, she thinks, as she breathes hotly over the tip of his member, making his breath hitch in his throat.

Teasingly, she runs the pad of her index finger up his length before wrapping her fingers around him and instantly, Liam’s moaning and arching up into her touch, chasing the pressure of Fallon’s hand. She can’t help the smirk that forms on her face, relishing in the way she can drive him mad with want.

“Fal, please,” he breathes, his eyes now closed, savouring the feeling of Fallon’s hand stroking him in long, slow strokes. She continues, alternating between stroking down his length and rubbing her thumb in determined circles over the head, using her free hand to scrape her fingernails pleasantly up and down his inner thigh, revelling in how his member occasionally twitches in her hand. As he’d done with her, it wasn’t _quite_ enough to bring him to orgasm, but clearly felt good enough for him to strain his neck, his body tensing, groaning out her name again.

“ _Relax_ , honey.” She says, her voice soothing, and places a kiss on his inner thigh which earns her eye contact, his dark, stormy orbs glaring back at her with a desperate look in them, “I’ll be good to you.”

Keeping his gaze, she hovers over his length, slowly descends and licks around the head, getting the combination of chlorine, precum and the still lingering taste of herself on her tongue. Oh, the things she will do for this man. She swills her tongue around the head a little more to tease him, all the while keeping eye contact with him, heated glances being exchanged until she hears him hold his breath, almost like it’s stuck in his throat, and decides to take mercy on him.

His hand tangles in her hair, gently this time, and it spurs her to start licking her way from the tip and down, her tongue following the vein there. When she makes her way back up and takes Liam all the way down to where her hand is wrapped around his base, he lets go of his breath, a low moan leaving his lips, finally feeling relief.

She bobs her head, each time feeling Liam absentmindedly pulling at her hair more and more as his restraint diminishes. She _loves_ him like this – panting, his brows drawn together, biting his lip, trying – and failing - not to curse.

“God, _fuck,_ Fallon. Just like that, babe.”

It spurs her on even more, using her hand and mouth simultaneously, twisting her wrist in a stimulating rhythm, gradually increasing the speed, and she begins to bring him undone in a matter of minutes.

Fallon knows he’s close when she feels his thigh muscles tense, so she opts to move faster, cupping his balls with her free hand, giving them a gentle squeeze, aiming to make him feel as good as he’d made her feel – if that’s even possible. 

“Fallon, I’m close,” He groans out, his voice wrecked.

She simply hums, letting him know it’s okay, she’s got this.

“ _Fal_ \- Oh my god.“ Descending one last time, she takes in as much as she can and swallows him down when he spills into her mouth, the sensation of her throat closing around his head clearly improving the intensity of his orgasm when he shouts out, “Jesus, Fallon, you’re amazing.”

When he’s practically spent, she licks over the tip, getting every last drop she can until he squirms away from her touch, over-sensitive. “Alright, I think you got it all.” He laughs out, shakily.

She places one last kiss on his softening member, more so that she can hear one last whimper from him, and lets go, using her fingers to wipe across her bottom lip and smiles mischievously as she looks at him.

“Get back in the water.” She demands, feeling how cold his skin is and moves out of the way so that he can slide back into the warmth, his body pliant, relaxed. He’s gazing at her with that pure look of admiration in his eyes that still to this day makes her heart beat just that tiny bit faster. “Can you pass me the champagne?” She asks in a whisper.

Liam reaches behind him, grabbing the half-empty crystal glass and hands it over to her so that she can chase down the salty taste in her mouth with the expensive sparkling wine, swilling it around before completely emptying the glass of its contents.

“Better?” He asks, amused.

She hums, raising her eyebrows, “Oh, the things I do for you,” she returns.

“I _greatly_ appreciate it,” Liam says, taking the now empty glass from her, replacing it on the side and reaches out, taking hold of her hand and pulls her to him. She goes willingly, climbing onto his lap, sitting sideways. Immediately, his hands come around her, intertwining at her hip to keep her in place whilst she rests her elbows on his shoulders, crossing her wrists behind his head. They settle against each other, enjoying the euphoric high of endorphins.

“Well I don’t know about you,” she starts, “but I think that was _so good_ it could keep me satisfied for at least a month.”

He raises his eyebrows at her, “That was amazing, _you’re_ amazing, but a month? Really?”

“Mmhmm.” She replies, her confidence unrelenting. “But, I know I won’t have to wait that long.”

“You’re pretty confident that I’ll give in, aren’t you?”

She leans in closer, inches from his mouth, “You’re forgetting rule number 1, teasing _is_ allowed, I give it 3 days until you surrender, Ridley.”

Liam shakes his head, a smug smile plastered on his face.

“We’ll see.”


	2. Sunday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day one of the No-Sex challenge begins and Fallon expects it to be easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the established Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other but they have to stop before the other one gets too close to orgasm.  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction).

Sunday morning was _fine,_ for the most part. There was just one minor interruption to their regular routine which threw her off her game; whilst most people would go to church to repent for their sins, Fallon and Liam had made it a habit to spend the early hours of Sundays having slow, lazy, morning sex. They’d been doing it for months now, relishing in the freedom they had to take their time for a change, no need to rush, being able to take each other apart piece by piece, all soft sighs and leisurely paces, gradually bring one another to pure ecstasy. It had easily become Fallon’s favourite day of the week.

But this Sunday, they couldn’t.

All because of the stupid challenge they had set for themselves to abstain from sex for 7 days – or as Fallon preferred to think of it, ‘the competition to see how quickly she could break Liam into begging her for sex.’

Which means that when they wake in each other’s arms, the air feels thick with a slight awkwardness, especially considering all Fallon can think about is last night and what they’d both done in that jacuzzi.

She needs a distraction before her thoughts get too carried away. 

“So,” Fallon mumbles, breaking the silence, her head resting on Liam’s bare chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat beneath her ear, “What do you want to do today?”

“Umm…” Liam begins, continuing stroking lightly over Fallon’s arm, leaving a pleasant tingle in his wake, “We could go get some breakfast and then take a walk?”

“That sounds nice,” She responds and begins to walk her fingers up Liam’s chest, glancing up to look him in his bright eyes, “Or, we could do what we _usually_ do on a Sunday morning.”

That earns her a knowing smile, “You’re right, we _could,_ as long as you say those two magic words.”

“I was kind of thinking that you should say them,” she teases back, manifesting the most innocent look on her face that she could muster.

“Nice try, babe,” her face falls, rolling her eyes, giving up her charade in a matter of seconds, “but you and I both know that we aren’t going to give up that easily, so shall we just skip the teasing and move straight to the bacon?”

She lets out a long sigh, making sure her disappointment doesn’t go unnoticed as she begins to clamber off the bed to get dressed.

“ _Fine_.”

~

It turns out to be an ideal morning to take a walk, everything is colorful and serene, with a light breeze in the air keeping the couple cool as they wandered the grounds of the manor. Fallon had opted for wearing a flowing lilac dress and a large cream hat to keep the sun off of her face, whereas Liam went for a more casual look in an indigo polo and ivory chinos. Fallon swears he’s wearing more cologne than usual, the comforting scent of bergamot, amber and leather that she associates only with _him_ , hitting her nose, tempting her to draw closer to him. 

“You know, this is actually kind of nice,” Fallon comments to Liam as they walk hand in hand passed the lake, heading towards the stables, the warm summer air pleasantly swilling around them, “it’s kind of like when we were first dating and we had to walk off our sexual frustration.”

Liam let out a breathy chuckle, “It was easier back then because I didn’t know what I was missing.”

She lifts an eyebrow, catching his gaze with a mischievous look on her face, “Touché.”

“But you’re right,” he continues, “it is nice to get out and enjoy the fresh air, just the two of us.”

“And is this jogging any memories, back from those early days?”

“Oh, you mean like _this_?” he asks, pulling the hand that’s intertwined with his so that they’re now facing one another. She can easily read his intentions on his face and can’t help the giggle that escapes her moments before crashing her lips to his, both still smiling into the kiss as they apply pressure before falling into an easy rhythm, slow, relaxed, like their usual Sunday mornings. Her hands drift up, cupping his face, moving into his hair and hums contentedly.

Liam is the one to break away after a minute, a wide grin forming on his face, a glistening in his ocean eyes.

“Yeah,” She says softly, a little breathless, “like that.”

“I already told you, Fal, I’m pretty sure I got all of my memories back.”

She shrugs, “I know,” She lets her arms drop back to her side as they continue walking towards the path up to the stables, their hands finding one another again, fingers intertwining, “I’m just making sure.”

By way of response, he tugs on her hand a little, bringing her closer, their shoulders bumping in a playful manner, both chuckling softly. They remain like that, all flirty glances, exchanging banter and inside jokes until they reach the paddocks and Fallon spots her chestnut Holsteiner eating hay in the distance.

“Snickers,” She clicks her tongue a few times to gain her attention, but the mare hardly raises her head, “come here, girl.”

Fallon pouts, her eyebrows drawing together, it was unusual for her horse to ignore her like that, usually being so well-trained. She tries calling her name again but is met with just a swish of her tail and no inclination of moving from her shaded spot under a large oak tree.

“Here, try this,” Liam says behind her and Fallon feels a hard, rather phallic-shaped article being pressed into her left butt cheek, immediately turning her thoughts salacious. 

“Liam!” She gasps mischievously, keeping her eyes fixed on the horizon, but presses closer, “You really couldn’t wait until we get back into the manor? You gave in pretty quickly-”

“It’s a carrot, Fallon.”

She turns quickly, looking down at the orange vegetable in Liam’s hand.

“Oh.”

He bursts out laughing – _of course, he does,_ which only makes her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

“I swiped it from the kitchen before we left,” Liam manages to wheeze out, “but it’s good to know where your minds at.”

“I knew it was a carrot.” She jeers, swiping the object from his hands without any delicacy and holds it out over the fence, her back turned to her fiancé, feeling a sting of humiliation. 

“Sure you did,” he responds once his laughter dies down, “I’m slightly more concerned that you thought I’d randomly press my dick against you in the middle of a field.”

“I can think of at least 10 separate occasions for why that isn’t an unrealistic thing for me to believe.” She leers, recalling all the times Liam has been surprisingly turned on in situations that were not conventionally sexy. “Why isn’t she listening to me? SNICKERS!”

Still nothing.

“She probably can’t hear you,” Liam offers.

“Alright, well you try,” she snaps out, losing her patience.

Immediately, Liam places his thumb and forefinger into his mouth and whistles loudly, the high pitched sound reverberating in Fallon’s ears and it grabs the mare’s attention. Her ears prick up, and she eventually looks their way, trotting over to the couple without hesitation.

Fallon rolls her eyes in fake irritation, “Show off.”

Liam simply chuckles lightly in response, until his attention is drawn to the horse now quickly approaching them. “Hi, beautiful.” He says, holding his palm flat out, stroking down the mare’s nose when she makes contact.

Fallon gawks at the sight in front of her, stunned that her horse had ignored her completely and gone directly to her fiancé instead, “Snickers, I’m the one stood here with the carrot, you traitor.”

“Oh Fallon, don’t be jealous. She’s just a ladies man, that’s all,” He says, fussing her mane.

“She usually hates men, plus she’s _my_ horse and I have the snacks.” She knows she sounds like a whiney child right now, but she really does not care.

Taking in her pouty expression, Liam throws her a sympathetic smile before leaning closer to her and speaking in a low tone, “I’ll let you in on a little secret, I always feed her apples from the orchard when I come out for a run. We’re best friends now.” He turns his attention back to the show-jumper, speaking with a high pitched voice, “Aren’t we?” Which earns him an approving whiney.

It is, unfortunately for Fallon because she can no longer hold onto even an ounce of petty annoyance at the sight in front of her, _adorable._

Snickers eventually moves over to her after Liam gives her neck one last pat, heading directly for the orange snack in Fallon’s right hand. She takes it gently, and once she’s finished devouring it returns to Fallon, nuzzling her hand. 

“See, she still knows who her mother is.”

Fallon hums, half in agreement, half in thought as she brings her hand up to her mare’s muzzle and strokes down it gently, “Honestly, it’s my fault. I don’t spend enough time with her.” 

“We should go riding more,” Liam suggests, his hand moving to her back, his thumb rubbing pleasant circles over her shoulder blade.

 _I should ride you more –_ she catches herself before the words make it to her lips and she loses every ounce of dignity she has. Still, she’d _thought_ that, and Fallon feels very much like a child who has been told they can’t have any ice-cream before dinner, and now all she can think about is wanting to have ice-cream before dinner. Except, in this situation, ice-cream was a euphemism for sex.

It’s possible this competition was going to be more difficult for her than she had first anticipated.

She bites her lip, takes a deep breath in and out to compile herself before saying, “Yeah, we should. But I’m getting you your own horse because she’s mine.”

Liam smiles widely and bends under the brim of her hat to place a firm kiss on Fallon’s cheek, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know she is.”

Apparently, that had been enough attention from the couple for Snickers for the day who backs away and trots off to the shaded corner of her paddock.

“We should start heading back so that we can get ready for dinner,” Liam suggests, taking Fallon’s hand again once she agrees and begins walking in the opposite direction to where they’d just come from.

“Wait, why don’t we go this way?” She begins tugging on his arm, confused, “It’s quicker.”

“We still have time, come on, we can go the scenic route.”

She supposes he’s right, considering they had spent less time in bed that morning, they did have a few more hours to kill, so she allows him to pull her the whole way around the lake rather than cutting across the bridge, falling into idle chit chat.

It takes Fallon all of 5 minutes to realise that he’s purposely taken her this way because it leads them passed the boathouse.

“Hey, remember what we did in there after you proposed to me?” He says, pointing over to the wooden structure by the side of the lake.

“Of course,” She says, “Is this your way of proving to me that you have all of your memories back?”

“Hm, maybe.” He throws her a mischievous grin and it’s obvious he’s got an ace up his sleeve that he’s about to play against her. “You were _so_ apologetic about losing my dad’s ring, and even though I kept telling you it was fine, you really let your actions speak louder than your words.”

She begins to feel a heat flushing her skin, the memory springing to the forefront of her mind, how they fumbled into that boathouse, their mouths attached, hands roaming, grasping at each other, “Yeah, I know Liam, I was there, remember?”

“Once I closed the doors you practically threw me into that boat,” He continues, ignoring her completely, “Climbed on top of me, unzipped my pants and eased yourself all the way onto my dick _so slowly_ it was practically torture.”

Fallon gulps, remembering that moment clearly herself, recalling how she’d gone so slow because she had wanted to savour it, to keep that mental image of Liam with her name on his lips, blissed-out, in her mind forever. To hear it from his perspective was sinfully erotic.

“You were already _so_ wet from our make-out session in the boat out on the water, you felt amazing, and then you put your hands on my chest and started grinding your damn hips, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven right then and there.”

She takes notice of her breathing becoming increasingly shallow and finds herself chewing on her bottom lip, lost in the memory.

“I could tell you’d found it, that spot that makes you crazy, your head was thrown back, your gorgeous lips were parted, panting out my name in that red dress,”

He’s staring at her as he’s talking, clearly attempting to gauge her reaction, so she opts to stare straight ahead and focuses on the treeline in the distance, the manor, _anything_ that can distract her from Liam recalling their past lovemaking so sensually.

“And then you _came_ and _god_ babe, you looked _glorious_. I remember thinking just how damn lucky I am that you wanted me, forever. That we can have _this_ ,” He squeezes at her joined hands for emphasis, “forever.”

Her heart skips a beat.

The way he could be so poetic and romantic whilst describing what was essentially two horny newly-engaged fiancés going at it in a boathouse was unfair. The fact that his words, combined with that smoky voice of his is so capable of lighting that spark of desire deep in the intimate parts her body was just downright dirty.

“So,” He starts, his tone more conversation like, “Did I remember all of that correctly?”

Eventually, she throws a look his way, making sure her displeasure is clearly written on her face with her stoic expression. Liam, on the other hand, could not have appeared smugger if he tried. So, apparently, he had opted to not ‘skip the teasing’ as he’d suggested this morning, which to Fallon meant that this just crossed the line from friendly competition to an all-out war, and it’s one she’s determined to win, figuring that two can play at that game.

She mirrors his expression, putting on her game face, using his own tactic against him, “Actually,” She drawls out, “You missed out the part where _you_ came, grabbing hold of my hips, thrusting into me, hard. Telling me over, and over again how much you love me.”

He hesitates, gazing at her with a look of surprise for a moment, Fallon’s recollection clearly throwing him off guard a little before he recovers, a slow smile spreading on his face, “Well, I didn’t lie.”

Fallon shrugs nonchalantly, looking back off into the distance, “It’s an easy thing to say when someone just rode you into oblivion.”

“Which you did, _so_ well. But,” his fingers move, unlacing from hers, and wrapping around her wrist, silently asking her to halt. She relents, coming to a stop, meeting his wide innocent-looking eyes as she turns and tries to keep her expression neutral, “You know I love you, whether or not you’re giving me a mind-blowing orgasm.”

She purses her lips, shaking her head subtly, “I know what you’re doing you know.”

His head tilts to the side all adorably, playing an innocent and confused act which really isn’t working on her, “What do you mean?”

“You’re trying to get the upper hand,” she counters, “but it’s not going to work on me.”

In an instant, Liam drops the puppy dog eyes performance, revealing his true intentions with a predatory gaze, “Really?” He raises an eyebrow in question and speaks in a low voice, coaxing her in, “Because you see Fallon, I think it’s working _really_ well. Your pupils are dilated, your breathing is shallow and don’t think I didn’t notice you biting your bottom lip, you only do that when you’re turned on. Oh and then there’s _this_ ,” he raises his hand which is still holding onto her wrist, drawing her attention to the way his fingers are cleverly placed on her pulse point and he inches closer, halting only centimetres from her face, stealing her air, “Your pulse is elevated. So you can say what you want about it not working on you, but your body is telling me something entirely different.”

Sometimes she forgets that Liam can read her like an open book, it’s moments like this that come out of nowhere which is a stark reminder of that fact. There wasn’t any point in denying it, he’d deduced her with accuracy and he knew that with confidence. She would have to play a different move here.

“Alright, Ridley, you got me.” She declares, and moves closer, so close that her breasts push up against his chest and she hears him take a sharp intake of breath, “What kind of girl would I be if I wasn’t turned on by you recounting one of the best orgasms I’ve ever had?” She catches his jaw clenching, his resolve beginning to slip and she knows exactly what to say next to push his buttons, “But, you do realise that by teasing me like that I’m only going to do it back to you and you know me well enough by now to know that I am merciless. I will stop at _nothing_ to get you to surrender.”

His eyes light up, a smile slowly creeping onto his face; she’d recognise that look anywhere. It’s his, I’m ‘slightly terrified of you right now, but _really_ turned on at the same time’ face and she knows she’s got him under her spell.

“I was hoping you were going to say something like that,” he returns, and slides his hands down her back and over her ass, giving it a firm squeeze, making her involuntarily bite at her lip, “Bring it on, Fallon.”

~

Dinner begins without incident, they’d both agreed to call a truce whenever the family is around to ensure no one catches onto their little challenge, figuring it would be more than embarrassing having to explain what they’re getting up to if they were caught being overly amorous with one another. So, they planned to behave themselves, which for Fallon lasted all of 10 minutes. Her family’s conversation was duller than a rock as they meticulously rehashed what sounded like an incredibly tedious night they’d all previously had, reminding her of exactly why she had opted to remain at home in the first place. So, in true Fallon fashion, she begins to get bored.

And a bored Fallon can be a very naughty Fallon.

It starts with her innocently resting her hand on Liam’s knee as Cristal recalls something about one of the shareholders drinking far too much and coming onto one of the young interns. Quite simply, Fallon could not care less, so when her thoughts begin to wander away from the conversation, so do her fingers, tracing light circles over Liam’s lap with her fingernails. Her fiancé doesn’t seem to mind, he doesn’t flinch or even indicate he’s aware of Fallon touching him, perhaps because it isn’t unusual behaviour for her.

Half taking in the mind-numbing and predictable story, she feels her patience rapidly slipping, at which point is either her cue to announce that fact to Cristal and beg for someone else to contribute something juicier and more intriguing to the dinner table, or, find something else to occupy her mind. She goes for the latter option, which means Liam becomes her target in the little game she creates for herself.

Usually, when she places her hand on Liam’s lap, he throws her a quick smile, or even puts his own hand on top of hers, lacing their fingers together under the table, but this time he hadn’t, which was unusual. She feels the need to get to the bottom of why.

At the same time as nodding her head at the right times to suggest she is listening and encouraging the tale to continue sprouting from Cristal’s mouth, she begins to run her fingernails up and down Liam’s inner thigh, grazing him at a slow and torturous pace, exactly how she’d done last night whilst she was deep-throating him. Like herself, she knows that’s one of his erogenous zones and he always responds to her stimulating the sensitive area, with this exact moment being the _only_ exception to that rule. She studies him, assessing his expression, watches as he completely ignores her and responds in kind to Cristal, his face dropping on cue at the punchline before breathing out a laugh, his eyes lighting up, crinkling at the corners.

Thankfully, no one is taking any notice of her staring at her fiancé sat next to her with a look which is a mixture of pure shock and confusion on her face, her brows drawing together, her lips pouting.

Distantly, it registers in her mind that Blake takes over the conversation, but she doesn’t bother to even listen to the change of topic, focusing her attention solely on seeing how far she can push Liam before his resolve cracks.

There’s no longer anything innocent about the way she touches him as she roams even further, reaching a place which is far too close to be considered a harmless caress under the table. Her palm rubs over his member, making circular motions and she feels it under her hand how she causes him to stir in interest.

Yet, his expression gives nothing away and all Fallon can think is that he’s clearly a much better actor than she has previously given him credit for, especially considering how his breath hasn’t even noticeably increased, there’s no added pinkness to his cheeks or ears, and he’s actively listening to Blake perfectly. It’s actually impressive considering she knows that blood is currently rushing south for him right now, feeling him hardening under her touch.

She bites her bottom lip, the knowledge that she is capable of having this effect on him turning her on all the same as she feels a flush of heat move over her skin.

Feeling brave, she pushes her luck, and when her slender fingers reach his zipper and attempt to undo the fastener to gain better access, Liam takes her by surprise, breaking away from the conversation and swiftly leans close to her, his lips at her ear. She feels his hot breath tickle her neck before he practically growls, his voice low and gravelly, dangerous almost, “Fallon, if you don’t stop touching me I’m going to put my hand up your dress right here under this dinner table in front of your whole family and slowly torture your clit with my fingers in the way that I know drives you crazy, and you’ll be soaked, sweetheart. Perfectly ready for me. But you remember rule number 6, right? I can touch you but you can’t cum, so that means I’ll have to stop before you can get the sweet relief you’ll be craving, and you and I both know you won’t give up and surrender this early so you’ll be left you all high and dry. Now, if you don’t want that to happen I highly suggest you remove your hand from my dick and stop trying to get into my pants, are we clear?”

The fine hairs on her arms stand on end, and she tries to keep a straight face, especially when his silvery words cause a shiver to run all the way down her spine, even making its way to her core _,_ causing her body to tremble with a short spark of pleasure at the thought of Liam doing exactly what he’d threatened to do to her _._ Involuntarily, she entertains the idea of him grasping at her bare thigh, checking to make sure none of the family members surrounding them notices what he’s doing before moving his fingers over her lace panties. She knows he’d press his thumb against her clit with _just_ the right amount of pressure, moving in slow circles, creating delicious friction, attempting to keep up with the conversation, the thrill of being caught only spurring him on. _God,_ she wants that so much right now that she actually squirms in her chair.

It doesn’t help that she knows he wasn’t making any empty promises, she’d called his bluff like this before and he always carried out his warnings. That’s how she’d once ended up receiving head from him under her desk whilst she took an important video conference call. Having to try to talk business whilst being pleasured like that was – on second thought, she really doesn’t want to relive that torment.

Also, Liam was right; she wouldn’t give up and surrender, which meant that he would tease her, probably moving her panties out of the way and press his fingers into her, curving the digits, building the sensation of pleasure, only for him to remove his hand before she could get close to the point of orgasm and act as if nothing had even happened whilst she would be left a hot mess at the dining table, craving more.

Making that easily calculated decision, she has no other choice but to collect herself, taking in a deep breath and she removes her right hand from its current position on his crotch. Attempting to hide her desire, she reaches for her glass of red wine on the table and takes a sip, letting the oaky taste sit on her tongue for a moment before swallowing it down, enjoying the faint burn travelling down her throat as a distraction to her currently racing thoughts. 

“You guys okay?” Blake asks, clearly having observed Liam muttering something in Fallon’s ear.

Her eyes widen, and she thinks fast, knowing she has to say something clever to get him off their back, “Yeah,” she responds, placing her glass back down on the table with a clink and throws Blake a confident smile, “Liam was just reminding me that we have a cake tasting appointment tomorrow.”

Liam turns his head back towards his future father-in-law, his voice like honey, completely the opposite to how he’d just spoken to Fallon, “Sorry, Blake. I just wanted to make sure Fallon had remembered to leave herself enough time, we want to get everything right for the wedding. Please, carry on. You were saying about how my Uncle was giving you a hard time since the change of ownership?”

Her father seems satisfied with that, immediately continuing with his tale, giving her a moment of relief to collect her thoughts.

All it takes is for Liam to glance back at her, that cheeky grin he reserves only for when he knows he’s got one over her plastered on his face and winks for her resolve to crumble yet again.

~

“You can kiss me, you know,” Liam announces, pulling Fallon out of her daze, refocusing her reality and she realises that she has been sitting on her side of the bed just _staring_ at Liam, topless, half under the covers, scrolling casually on his phone. Her mind was playing out that damn fantasy of what would have happened if she hadn’t stopped trying to get into Liam’s pants at the dinner table, wondering if she could have been the one to make _him_ a hot, panting mess. Perhaps he wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity to return the favor that he’d threatened, being far too lost in the sensations she was planning to create for him.

And now he’s caught her out.

In an attempt to recover, she scoffs, trying to appear nonchalant. “Yes, I know.”

“Really?” He raises an eyebrow in question, his eyes still glued to the screen in front of him, “Because you’ve been staring at my lips for 2 hours now and you haven’t done a thing about it.”

Has she?

Considering her current amorous mood, it’s entirely possible.

She’s about to retort back with a snide remark, but he drops his hand, the phone resting on the bedsheets, forgotten. “Or,” he starts moving towards her position on the bed, leaning in close, looking at her with a heated gaze and whispers in a low tone, “Is it actually that you want my mouth somewhere else?” He doesn’t give her any time to respond before he’s moving her hair out of the way and inclining, “Here, for example,” he says before pressing his lips against the pulse point of her neck.

A sigh escapes her, giving in to the sensations far too easily, getting lost in the way he runs his tongue over the skin there, sucks lightly, letting go before he marks her. He knows he isn’t allowed to do that where it’s easily visible.

“Or is it here?” he asks, moving his lips up to her ear, kisses the shell of it before scraping his teeth lightly in a downwards motion, licks at her earlobe, bringing it into his mouth. All of which is sending pleasant tingles over her body, warming her blood, making her crave his touch.

Subconsciously, she lays back, pulls his shoulder in a way to indicate that she wants him closer, and he goes willingly, shuffling slightly on the bed so that he’s flush against her body, settled between her legs. She’s only wearing silk pyjamas, a light camisole and shorts, him in his boxer shorts only, both trying to escape the summer heat, which means there’s now a lot of skin on skin contact going on.

Liam lifts his head after a minute, looks her in the eyes, assessing her expression, “No, it’s not there that you want my mouth, is it babe? I’ll try somewhere else.” He says before ducking his head, pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses on her breasts.

Her hands automatically go to his hair, carding through his short strands and gasps when he pulls her pyjama top down and closes his lips over her now exposed left nipple. They’d been feeling sensitive all day on account of her general horniness but she’d denied herself from touching, so for Liam to now be swilling his tongue over the hardening nub, a hand coming up to cup her right breast, felt unbelievably good.

Somewhere distantly in her mind, it registers that her plan to overcome rule number 6 by not even letting Liam touch her was now completely out of the window. She knows she should stop but really cannot find it in herself to make him. Still, she can’t let him _know_ that, so in an attempt to make it seem like desire wasn’t currently sitting just below the surface of her skin, burning her, close to giving in to temptation, she stifles a moan when he tentatively rubs over her right nipple with his thumb.

He pulls off her breast, “Hm, not there then huh?” he asks before placing a peck of a kiss on her sternum. “There?”

She squirms, looking down at him and he takes no time to pull her camisole up from the hem, exposing her stomach. He glances up and they lock eyes, blue meeting blue and she feels exposed, like he can read her every thought. Keeping her gaze, he moves down a little, presses a kiss to the top of her stomach, “Here?” he asks. When he receives no reaction from her, he travels further down, reaching just above her belly button, placing another soft kiss to her skin there. “Here?”

A smile slowly spreads on his face, because the bastard knows exactly where he’s going next, and Fallon can’t hide the anticipation in her expression. As expected, he shifts down the bed and hovers his mouth over her silk covered core. Tentatively, he runs a finger down from her navel, over her pubic bone and directly over that bundle of nerves practically crying out for attention. She involuntarily lets out the breath she didn’t even know she was holding.

“I have a feeling it’s _here,_ that you want my mouth. Would you like me to check?”

She gulps. Of _course,_ she does, right now the idea of Liam taking off her silk shorts, pressing his mouth against her clit and licking his tongue over her whilst she tugs on his hair and demands more is almost _all_ she wants. _Almost;_ because she wants to hear Liam say “I surrender,” to her _more._

It takes every ounce of willpower she has for her to turn away and squirm out from underneath him and casually say, “No, I’m good, thanks.”

The look on his face gives her a fleeting feeling of victory, his face dropped, jaw slack with surprise. He’d obviously been expecting her to accept the offer and surrender to him, and she could tell he was turned on almost as much as she was so for her to now just reject his offer was going to be just as bothersome for him as it was for her.

“Are you serious?” He asks.

Smugly, she simply nods whilst readjusting her camisole, re-covering herself and lays on her side, her back turned to him. She even closes her eyes and fakes a yawn just for added effect. 

“Are you not even going to kiss your fiancé goodnight?” He asks, returning to his side of the bed.

She waggles her index finger at him in a come-hither motion, gesturing for him to approach her as she moves her head slightly so that he can gain better access.

Once he presses his lips to hers she can feel the desperation in him, the kiss being far too heated for a simple good night peck. Instantly, he attempts to kiss her dirtily, open-mouthed, his lips moving against hers without restraint, prying her mouth open with his tongue, licking his way in, tasting, exploring, seductive. She keeps up with him as if to lure him into a false sense of security before pulling away without warning, abandoning the kiss prematurely, rolling back onto her side completely away from him, leaving him dazed.

“Night, Liam.” She says, smugness tinged in the warmth of her voice and hears him huff out a breath like he’s trying to control himself. 

“Night, Fal.” He eventually replies once he lays down on his side of the bed, a safe distance between the two of them to stop any hands from fumbling around in the night. 

Would she be able to sleep easily tonight with all of this desire still pulsating through her body? Absolutely not. Would it be made easier in the knowledge that Liam was also just as tortured as her right now? Definitely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, what did you all think I was going to do with that carrot?


	3. Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fallon and Liam go cake tasting for their wedding and cake ends up in places it shouldn't be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other but they have to stop before the other one gets close to orgasm  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction).

Fallon wakes on Monday morning in the _best_ way possible, feeling strong arms around her torso, a warm, pliant body pressed against her back, soft breaths tickling the nape of her neck where her fiancé’s head is resting, sharing her pillow. Whilst she had remained in the same position throughout the night, on her side, facing away from Liam, he had clearly moved quite significantly over to her side of the bed, likely subconsciously seeking her warmth, spooning up to her, which she had to admit, she does _love._

Liam always makes her feel safe, cared for, _happy_. Mornings like this when she discovers her body tangled with his reminds her of that. It’s a moment of reflection, to rise from her deep slumber at the beginning of what is likely to be a hectic working week to find she is comfortably in the arms of the man she loves so deeply.

She hasn’t bothered to open her eyes yet, but her internal clock was usually reliable at waking her at exactly 6:30 AM, especially on weekdays, which means she has a little more time to relax and savour the romantic moment, just content with her body intertwined with this before the usual drama of her life unfolds.

She listens to his soft snores, lightly feels his chest rising and falling and wonders for a moment what that creative mind of his is dreaming of. He tells her about them sometimes, how whole worlds and scenarios paint themselves as a picture in his head as he sleeps, often inspiring his writing. She’s in awe of it, especially because in comparison, her dreams are usually either so mediocre and boring or worse, pure nightmares. Unfortunately, the insecurities and worries she harbours and tries to lock away deep in her mind usually resurrect themselves during the nights, demanding to be heard in the most violent and unpleasant of ways. Having Liam here helps with that. His presence alone calms her, helps her to see sense, chases away the darkness. She truly can’t – or really doesn’t want – to imagine what her life would be like without him here.

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to even consider it, because he’s _here,_ right now, choosing to hold her close, even while he is unconscious. She lets out a contented sigh, runs her fingers up the arm thrown over her and shifts slightly.

Her eyes shoot wide open.

Liam’s got a boner. _Undeniably,_ it’s a boner, a very hard and likely rather uncomfortable one from the feel of it now pressing against her ass.

A playful grin creeps onto her face, instantly excited at the prospect that _this is it,_ this is her opportunity. If she plays her cards right she can easily work Liam into such a state of need that he _has_ to surrender to her and she’ll get that glorious morning sex she had missed so much yesterday.

Her plan is twofold, 1. Pretend to still be asleep and _innocently_ rub her ass against his hardened member to turn him into a whimpering mess who will crave release, and 2. When he predictably wakes up in that state, seductively offer to take care of the issue for him.

She gets to work on the first part of the plan immediately, closing her eyes again to feign sleeping and subtly begins to rotate her hips, grinding against him, creating satisfying friction. It doesn’t take long before he begins responding from his slumber, the arm around her tightening as his muscles flex and he begins to follow the slow rhythm of her hips with his own.

Although she has to keep a straight face to keep up the façade of being asleep herself, in her mind she’s already throwing herself a victory party, congratulating herself for her success.

Especially when he starts to pick up the speed and presses against her _harder,_ clearly becoming desperate. He _whines_ into her ear, a whimper from deep in his throat, asking for more without really understanding what it is he needs.

It’s _her,_ he needs _her._ She just needs him to wake up and realise that.

 _Very_ carefully, she places her hand over his which is resting against her stomach and guides it upwards to cup her breast, relishing in how he automatically rubs his thumb over her nipple. She figures he must be in that precarious limbo state between sleep and consciousness, his dreams at their most vivid stage.

“ _Fal,_ ” He pants out and she’s somewhat relieved to know it’s her who stars in his sex dreams.

Then he suddenly halts.

Fallon reminds herself to keep her body pliant, the muscles in her face relaxed and breathes deeply, knowing he’s now awake and will be rapidly assessing the situation he’s currently in.

She feels his head leave the pillow so he can gaze at her, he must take in her appearance, decides that she’s still asleep and begins to very slowly back away, obviously hoping that she will never even know that he was practically dry humping her in his sleep.

Time to enact stage 2 of the plan.

Fallon stirs, stretching out her arms and grabs hold of the hand which is trying to slip away from her breast. She hums contentedly, smiling softly, and says, “Morning honey.”

It’s utilising all of her restraint available to not laugh at what she can picture in her mind as him currently panicking, those ocean eyes of his wide, like a deer caught in headlights, unsure of how to proceed.

She keeps up the ruse by running her fingers over his arm in a gentle caress, waiting for him to make a move.

Eventually, he leans down and places a quick peck on her cheek, “Morning.”

Then he rolls away with force, landing on his back on his side of the bed.

“Where are you going?” She whines, “I was comfortable there, come back here and cuddle me.”

She hears him take in a deep breath and exhales it slowly through his nose.

“Don’t you have to get ready for going into the office?” He asks, his voice is more strained than he would probably like.

“I have time,” She responds, before turning towards him, putting on a pouty expression, “What’s wrong?”

He shrugs, appearing nonchalant, “Nothing’s wrong.”

Fallon shuffles close to him, throws a leg over his hips, resting on her elbow and runs her free hand delicately over his abs, “You sure?”

Liam fakes a smile, she knows that to be the case because it doesn’t quite reach his eyes like it usually does, “Yeah.”

She throws him a look, an eyebrow raised to insinuate she doesn’t believe him as she continues running her hand further down, her fingers tracing the well-defined V of his hips.

“So this isn’t bothering you then?” She asks as her palm dips underneath the bedsheets and grasps at his hardened member, causing him to involuntary hiss out, his hips bucking up into her touch.

“You knew.” He grits out, realising she had been faking innocence the whole time.

She can’t help the small chuckle that escapes her lips, “Of course I knew, I woke up with it digging into my ass and this time I was sure it wasn’t a carrot.”

He throws his head back in annoyance, looking up at the ceiling, his jaw clenched, clearly bothered by having been found out. “Damn it.”

“Oh Liam,” She says, her tone seductive, “Don’t stress out about it,” She dips her head, places a soft kiss on his neck, “That feels very uncomfortable, but don’t worry, I can take care of it for you.”

His eyes close, clearly trying to collect himself which is proving difficult for him with Fallon still rubbing circles over his throbbing member.

“Fallon…” He growls out between gritted teeth, a warning.

“Shh, just tell me what you want,” She says and places another kiss on his neck, “Would you like me to wrap my fingers around you and slowly bring you undone, Liam?” Another kiss, this time lingering, making her way towards his ear, “Or, maybe you want my pretty mouth around it? Deep in my throat? Sucking you dry?”

She watches as he bites his lip, trying to stifle moaning out loud.

“Or,” She whispers directly into his ear, “You could always pin me to the bed and bury yourself deep inside me. Fuck me hard like the bad girl I’m being right now.”

Her lips close around the sensitive shell of his ear as she feels his whole body shiver at her words. She runs her tongue over the skin there before continuing, “I’ll give you whatever it is that you want, you only need to ask and I’ll give you everything you desire. You just need to say those 2 little words.”

His eyes open, his head turning to meet hers, his pupils are blown so wide that she can hardly see the turquoise color of his iris’. She moves to his jaw, peppering kisses along the sharp line there.

“I…”

 _This is it, say it Liam, surrender,_ she thinks, trying to contain her excitement.

“Mhmm?” She hums, all blasé, encouraging him to continue.

“Can’t.”

She groans, instantly pulling away to look him in the eyes, putting on a stoic expression, the disappointment evident on her face.

“Liam, look at you, I think you might explode if you don’t cum in the next 60 seconds.” She says, her voice clipped.

He lets out a breathy laugh before grabbing her hand, pulling it away from his crotch, “I _might_ if you don’t stop touching me like that. Besides, it’s nothing that a cold shower and thinking about having to endure a few hours in the presence of my Mom on Thursday evening can’t fix.”

She rolls her eyes, shaking her head subtly, “You’re ridiculous.”

“Oh don’t be too disappointed,” Liam says, “I have to admit, I was _really_ close to giving in, so well done, babe.” He taps her ass twice in a playful manner, indicating for her to move before climbing off the bed and making his way into the bathroom, leaving her practically steaming with annoyance. Once she hears the familiar sound of the water turning on a few seconds later she throws her face into a pillow and screams into it, releasing her frustration.

~

Being at work was _so_ much better. It was managing to provide her with the much-needed distraction, she had realised instantly why Liam had insisted that she doesn’t just throw herself into work for the rest of the week to avoid all this sexual frustration stirring within her. It really is a shame, because a few corporate take-overs and contract deals could really knock the horniness right out of her.

Still, she is only provided with a short relief for a few hours before the afternoon rolls around and Liam shows up at her office, looking unfairly dapper in a crisp white shirt and grey tailored trousers that hug his ass a little too well. Unlike this morning, his eyes are back to a shining blue that catch in the light perfectly, glistening like diamonds as he casually strolls towards her, a sincere smile on his face.

“Hey, babe,” He says as he approaches, rounding her desk instantly to bend and place a lingering peck on her lips. She breathes in his stronger-than-usual cologne as she presses her lips against his, chasing the pressure for a moment before he pulls away, “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” She responds, her heart beating just that tad bit quicker than usual, “You look nice,” She comments as she stands, ironing out the creases in her powder-blue designer dress and begins to collect her things into her matching handbag. 

“Thank you, I figured since we’re meeting the person responsible for making our wedding cake I should try to make a good impression so that our guests aren’t poisoned.”

She chuckles, “That’s a tad dramatic, don’t you think?”

“It’s a Carrington wedding, _anything_ could happen.”

“True,” She responds and walks over to the coat stand.

“You won’t need your jacket, it’s hot out.” Liam comments. She trusts his judgement, having been inside the air-conditioned building for the most part of the day and instead takes his offered hand, throwing a quick ‘See You Later’ over to Allison on their way out.

She realises why he had insisted on her leaving her jacket behind when she doesn’t find a car waiting out front for them.

“You’re going to make me walk, aren’t you?” She says, unimpressed.

“It’s a few blocks, Fal. Besides, you’re going to want to build your appetite before trying all that cake, and trust me Barb's cakes are the best in the city.”

She supposes that’s a good point and lets him lead her down the street, debating with him over 5 tiers or 6. Once Liam finally agrees on 6, she moves the conversation on, commenting on how spending the whole afternoon tasting cake was basically her idea of heaven.

He smirks at her, responding with, “A whole afternoon of tasting cake off of your naked body would be _much_ better,” and she doesn’t even have the opportunity to reply with an equally suggestive comment as they reach the storefront of the boutique bakery and Liam’s opening the door, the small bell ringing to announce their arrival and pulls her into the cool space.

She’s instantly hit with a sweet scent which practically makes her mouth water. Her eyes glance around the bakery, taking in the vast use of white marble and the array of glass cases filled with colourful desserts. She doesn’t have much time to admire the space before they’re greeted by a petite middle-aged woman with silver hair and a kind smile who welcomes them in with a good afternoon and introduces herself as Barbara. After introducing themselves, she ushers them to the right side of the bakery onto one of the marble top tables which already appears to have been laid out for them. Liam holds the chair out for Fallon before sitting next to her, always the gentleman.

“First of all, congratulations on your engagement,” The baker comments with a smile.

Fallon swears she’ll never tire of hearing that, throwing Liam a smile before they both thank the woman.

“So, we’ll get straight down to business and start on the flavors, you can try every type we have today, however, I always think it’s fun to begin with a little game of who knows who best,” The woman hands them both a list, donning a selection of cake flavours ranging from the classics to creations Fallon hasn’t even heard of before. However, her eyes are immediately drawn to a particular type she _knows_ would taste amazing, “Tell me, which do you think your partner will like to try the _most_ from the list?”

Fallon swears Liam answers without even looking at the options, almost like he’d read her mind, “Oh, that’s easy, chocolate praline.”

She can’t help the smile that spreads on her face.

“I’m guessing by that reaction that he’s correct?” Barbara asks.

“Of course,” Fallon responds, glancing at her fiancé, “Well remembered, honey.”

“And you?” The baker asks immediately, the excitement evident in her voice.

Fallon looks down at the list again, already certain of her answer. However, she can’t get Liam’s little naked comment out of her head that he’d made just before they entered the bakery and Fallon finds she can’t help but attempt to get revenge on him when she blurts out, “Well, you see, most people assume that Liam is a vanilla kind of guy but he’s surprisingly adventurous, you know? He quite likes a bit of spice. So, I would guess the _sticky_ stem ginger and cinnamon cake.”

It doesn’t even take any words for them to exchange a conversation, Liam looking at Fallon with a ‘Did you just-' look on his face, and Fallon simply smirks back, a challenging eyebrow raised as if to respond with ‘Yes, yes I did.’

“Well?” Barbara asks, cutting through their non-verbal exchange.

Liam looks back over at the baker across the table and flashes her a grin, “Yes, she’s right. The stickier the better.”

Fallon has to look down at the table for a moment to collect herself, trying not to laugh.

If the baker had taken any notice of the innuendo, she didn’t let it be known as she stands, “Alright, great. I’ll grab those for you to try first. The water is on the table so that you can cleanse the palette before trying the next flavor.”

“Oh, Fallon usually uses champagne to do that,” Liam comments.

Her eyes widen, shooting him a warning glance, her mind casting itself back to 2 days ago when she swilled champagne around her mouth to chase down the salty taste of Liam’s cum on her tongue. 

When she returns her attention to the baker, who appears incredibly confused by Liam’s comment, Fallon simply says with a smile, “He’s kidding. He’s just saying I have expensive taste, but water is perfectly fine, thank you.”

“Little inside jokes, how adorable!” Barbara gushes, “Oh, before I bring out any of the goods, I have to ask, do any of you have any allergies, dairy, gluten, nuts, anything like that?”

Liam shakes his head, “No, we’re fine. Don’t be afraid to go heavy on the nuts, Fallon _loves_ them.”

Oh, she could kill him right now.

“Fantastic! Alright, I’ll be right back.” Barbara responds, throwing them a little smile before walking behind the counter and disappearing into what Fallon guesses is the kitchen area.

“What are you doing?” Fallon whispers at him, harshly.

Liam breathes out a laugh, a cheeky glint in his eyes, “What? You started it.”

She scoffs, incredulous to the fact he is trying to pin the blame of this on her, “Actually, _you_ started it with your little naked comment.”

He shrugs, “Okay, but that was out on the street, you brought it into here with your ‘not a vanilla guy’ talk.”

“And you continued it, _three times_.”

His smirk only grows wider, “You have to admit, the nuts joke was golden.”

She rolls her eyes, “Yes, yes it was hilarious. But you’ve made your point now, are you going to stop?” She asks.

Liam pauses for a moment, assessing her expression, his bright blue eyes full of wonder before the corner of his lips curl up, “Probably not,” he admits, “It’s cute seeing you all flustered.”

“Oh, flustered?” She asks, seeing him nod subtly, “You mean like how flustered you were when you woke up this morning with a massive b-“

“Here we are!” Barbara announces, appearing from around the corner carrying two plates in her hands which she places in front of the couple once she reaches the table. Fallon puts on her polite face again before casting her eyes down, taking in the sight of the rich mahogany sponge and she has to admit, it does look delicious.

“I’ll let you go first babe, as always,” Liam says, giving her a wink as he stretches his arm out so that it rests on the back of her chair.

She throws him a fake smile for show, but the look in her eyes says ‘You shouldn’t have done that’ as a plan formulates in her mind. Liam was good with his words _, of course, he was_ , but Fallon could play very dirty when she wanted to and her fiancé had managed to push enough buttons to make her really want to.

Using the dessert fork, she breaks off a small piece of the cake, pops it in her mouth and pulls the most exaggerated face of pleasure that she can muster.

She moans without restraint, purposely using her sex voice, knowing he’d recognise it as exactly that, “O _h my god_ , _Liam._ ” His eyes fly to hers, a knowing look in them and she just smirks around the fork in her mouth before easing it out _slowly,_ his gaze trained on her pouting lips, “that is _so_ good, you were right it’s _exactly_ what I like.”

His chest noticeably lifts as he takes in a deep breath, his eyes fixed on hers, darkening slightly.

“Yeah?” He responds, his voice raspy, “Oh babe,” He brings his palm up to her neck, causing a pleasant tingle to flush over her skin, the tips of his fingers settling just below her ear, “You got a little bit of the frosting…” His thumb strokes at the corner of her mouth before he eases his hand away and wraps his lips around his thumb, tasting the speck of frosting there. His eyebrows raise as if in surprise before pulling his now obscenely glistening thumb from his mouth, “You’re right, this does taste good.”

It feels like the air in her lungs gets a little thinner as her mind instantly goes to every time she’s ever seen him wet his thumb like that before pushing his hand between her legs and pressing it directly against her clit, rubbing pleasant circles.

“Alright, great.” Barbara’s voice cuts through the moment like a knife, forcing both of them to return their attention back to her. “Mr Ridley, please do try a bit of the stem ginger and cinnamon cake, now this one is a little different to classic recipes because I add pears to keep the sponge moist, otherwise it dries out too quickly.”

Liam smiles, looking down at the cake as he collects a piece onto his fork, “Sounds good, we don’t want things getting dry, do we, sweetheart?” He asks, throwing Fallon a subtle wink before popping the fork into his mouth. She resists rolling her eyes at him and simply hums in agreement.

“Well?” She asks, watching him slowly chew.

“Alright, there’s no need to rush Fallon, be patient,” He says once he swallows, “You know I like to savour the taste.”

She smirks at him, “I just think it’s nice to share in the pleasure.”

“Oh, you want a taste of this?” Liam asks, pointing down at the slice of cake on the table.

“Mhmm.”

“This is excellent, by the way, Barbara.” Liam says as he busies himself getting another piece on his fork, “You were right, the pears give it that perfect level of moisture.” 

“Why, thank you,” The baker responds enthusiastically, “Oh, that’s quite a large piece for her to try,” She comments as she looks down at the heaped fork in Liam’s hand.

“Oh, don’t worry, she’s used to the size.” He flashes her a grin and Fallon has to bite her cheek to stop herself from smiling, “Besides I want to make sure I get every bit on there, you know so that she gets the _full_ experience in one go.”

Liam turns towards her, the utensil raised, “Alright Fal, open your mouth nice and wide.”

She holds out her hand, her palm flat, “I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself, Liam.”

“Oh no, let him, dear,” Barbara interrupts, “It’s romantic.”

It may be _romantic,_ but it wasn’t part of her plan, which means she has to think of another way to put her idea in motion and decides she’s simply going to have to go for the kill.

Fallon shoots the baker a smile before leaning forward into Liam’s space, parting her lips in advance and without warning, grabs and rubs her palm over his crotch underneath the table without mercy. He jolts in response and the cake falls directly onto her cleavage.

_Perfect._

“Oops, sorry honey, I was meant to lean on your thigh,” She says in an innocent tone before looking down at the mess on her chest, moving her brunette curls out of the way to get a better look, pouting her lips.

Liam’s got a look on his face that says he’s impressed with her, knowing that she had done that on purpose.

“Let me get that for you,” He returns, his hands going directly to her breasts, picking up the chunk of cake resting between them.

Before Liam can do anything else, Fallon grabs his wrist and guides his fingers to her mouth, looking him straight in the eyes with a heated glance as she takes the piece of cake from his fingers and onto her tongue. She chews and swallows quickly, never letting go of his wrist so that she can lick the tip of her tongue all the way up to his index finger, cleaning it of the leftover frosting. Once she reaches the top, she wraps her mouth around it, sucking hard and moans before letting it go with a pop.

“That sticky glaze really is delicious,” She comments before looking over at Barbara, leaving Liam in a daze, “Oh and the ginger leaves a lovely tingle behind, it kind of keeps going even after you’ve finished, doesn’t it?” 

The baker nods enthusiastically, happily receiving the compliments. “Alright, well I’ll grab you both some more samples to try, I’ll start with the classic recipes first,” The older woman stands, “I will just be a few minutes.”

“Great, thank you,” Fallon responds with a smile.

“We need to call a truce for the rest of this appointment,” Liam hisses at her once Barbara is out of sight.

Fallon raises an eyebrow at him and takes a sip of water, “Oh, we do, do we? Just when I was starting to have some fun…”

He breathes out a sigh, “Fallon, you sucking on my finger like that,” He shakes his head, “I’m getting hard.”

At a quick glance, she can see the bulge in his pants becoming more noticeable and doesn’t bother to hide the smirk that forms on her face, pleased with herself, “Well you know what they say, Liam, if you can’t stand the heat then get out of the kitchen.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I promise I’ll stop with the innuendos if you stop doing what it is that you’re doing,” His eyes are wide, pleading with her almost, but she decides to keep the teasing going just a _little_ longer, wanting to be sure he was aware she has the upper hand here.

“Doing what, exactly? _Innocently_ eating cake?”

“Whilst moaning like my dick is buried deep inside you and I’m giving the time of your life? That’s hardly what I’d call innocent, Fal.”

She tries to not visualise that very vivid image and simply shrugs. “It’s not my fault I have sex appeal.”

“Fallon…” His voice is low, dominating, a warning.

“Alright, fine. I’ll agree to a temporary truce on one condition,” She pushes her chest out, “I still have frosting on my boobs, clean it all up for me and I promise to behave for the rest of the appointment.”

Liam rolls his eyes, moving his hand across the table to grab a serviette.

“Nah-ah,” Fallon says, halting him in his progress, “With your mouth,” She demands, knowing that it’ll turn him on more than it will her.

He shakes his head, “You’re a minx. What if she comes back and sees?”

“Well, then you better be quick about it.” 

Liam wastes no time. He bends forward, dipping his head and runs his tongue over the soft skin of her breasts, lapping up the leftover frosting.

“That’s it,” Fallon breathes out, enjoying the sensation, “That’s a good boy. Make sure you get every last bit.”

Clearly satisfied with his work, he places a soft kiss on the now clean area and pulls back, looking her in the eyes.

“You’re in trouble tonight, You know that, right?” He warns, his voice husky.

Distantly, Fallon hears footsteps approaching, indicating Barbara was making her way back into the room.

Fallon simply smirks and throws him a wink, “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

~

Liam is nowhere to be found when she finally makes it home from the office at around seven-thirty and figures he must still be out doing whatever it is that Liam does. She decides to run herself a bath to fill the time before he returns home and they can have dinner together.

Once she had returned to the office her afternoon had ended up being incredibly busy, being in meeting after meeting about the latest deal Fallon Unlimited was attempting to negotiate. It had been a tough one to crack, but the rival company trying to snatch the contract from under her nose had eventually relented, admitting defeat to her. In light of it all, she figures she _definitely_ deserves this victory soak in the tub.

After undressing, she ties her hair on top of her head, keeping it out of the water and slides into the warm, bubbly water, breathing out a sigh of relief as her muscles finally begin to relax. It takes a few more minutes for her mind to stop racing and thinking about all of the work-related issues she had faced that day and eventually strays into more personal aspects of her life. Like how ridiculous her and Liam had behaved in that bakery.

Once they’d called a truce the rest of the appointment had been rather fruitful, agreeing on the flavors for all 6 tiers of their wedding cake. Liam had even controlled himself when Barbara had recommended swallows as part of the decoration.

As soon as they had stepped back onto the street they had simultaneously burst out laughing at their actions, unable to contain themselves with the rush of sugar coursing through their veins. They giggled all the way back to Fallon’s office where Liam had kissed her goodbye and promised to be home for dinner but hadn’t actually told her where he was going to be spending the rest of the day.

She still can’t believe she had been so intent on teaching Liam a lesson that she had actually demanded him to lick the frosting from her cleavage, in a bakery where there were likely security cameras and plenty of people walking passed the glass front store from the street and could have easily have seen them. Then again, Liam had actually complied, so she isn’t sure if that says more about him or her. In all honesty, it probably speaks volumes about the playful dynamic of their relationship which is something she doesn’t ever want to change.

Then there was the way he had looked at her when he’d said she was in trouble tonight. His voice had been so low, his darkened eyes piercing into hers in such a way that it felt almost _dangerous._ She has to admit, it was incredibly sexy.

Before she even realises she is doing it, her hand has travelled in between her legs, her fingers moving in slow circles over her core as she replays it in her mind.

_“You’re in trouble tonight, you know that right?”_

She’d had to pretend to not be bothered by that remark, but in truth her clit had practically jumped at the thought, wondering how Liam could _possibly_ torture her any more than he already had the previous day. That takes her mind down another route, thinking back to how close she had been to just giving in as his mouth had been hovering over her center, how _easy_ it would have been to just let him descend on her, take her to heaven like he always does.

That thought makes her bite down hard on her bottom lip, her fingers picking up a pace as she enjoys the sensations slowly building within her. Of course, she knows she can’t go too far, cheating would only really be cheating herself considering all they were playing for in this little competition they’d set themselves was pride, but there was no harm in dabbling for a _minute_. She leans her head back on the side of the tub and closes her eyes so that she can better visualise what could have happened last night if she had surrendered to Liam.

Fallon knows he’d have taken things slowly, torturously so. It’s possible he wouldn’t have even removed her silk shorts for a while, deciding to press his tongue _hard_ against her centre, wetting the material before pushing his mouth against her clit and sucking with a delicious pressure. Then of course, once he’d be satisfied that she’s a debauched mess on the bedsheets, he’d have kissed his way up her inner thigh, making sure to scrape his chin across her sensitive skin there, knowing she loves the feeling of the friction his stubble causes before divulging her of her clothes, leaving her stripped, ready for him. Tentatively, he’d have licked over her core, staring her in the eyes as he did so with an intense gaze, causing her to whine and beg for more. Eventually, he’d relent, finally giving her what she craved as he’d press a finger inside-

“Oh, there you are,” Liam’s voice comes from behind her.

_Fuck._

Like a bolt of lightning, she moves both hands to grasp either side of the tub, her heart racing at being caught. Desperately, she tries to steady her breathing, it’s entirely possible that Liam hadn’t seen her touching herself so if she doesn’t say a word, she may just get away with this.

“Hey, where have you been?” She asks, acting nonchalant. Liam rounds the tub and Fallon can finally see him, wearing nothing but his work out shorts, his chest glistening with sweat, the veins in his arms protruding more than they had been this morning, “Oh you’ve been working out.”

“Yeah,” He says, “Went to the gym to lift some weights and then did a few circuits around the lake when I got home, had to burn off all those cake calories.”

Liam working out was an issue to her for multiple reasons. 1. His muscles were flexed tight right now and looked good, _really,_ good in fact. His abs especially were taut, tempting, and all she can think about is wanting to run her tongue all the way down them, more than likely going passed the waistband of his shorts which are hanging lower than they should be and she is sure that’s intentional. 2. Liam may claim to have needed to burn off the calories from the cake, which was likely part of the truth, however by exercising so vigorously he will have released some of that sexual tension he’s been harbouring for the past few days – this morning especially - which puts him at an unfair advantage. Then there was issue 3. Liam looks really, really good right now. Which, she realises was her first point but considering she’s already really horny, is doubly a problem for her.

She simply offers him a smile back in response, trying to ignore the elephant in the room.

“I need to shower,” Liam continues, and for a moment, she thinks she may have gotten away with it until he kneels at the end of the tub and smirks, his gaze predatory, “However, I’m much more interested in watching you continue doing what you were doing before I walked in here.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” She says with a shrug, her pulse speeding up.

He squints, pulling that look that tells her he simply doesn’t believe a word she’s saying, “Really? So I didn’t catch you touching yourself and moaning out my name?”

_She’d done that? Damn it._

“It’s okay, sweetheart. You can carry on. In fact, I’d _really_ like to watch you if you do continue.”

That would be far too dangerous. They’ve tried that before but Fallon always ends up grabbing Liam’s hand and asking him to finish her off for her and she isn’t in the position to be able to do that right now. Unless she surrenders. Which she isn’t going to do.

She shrugs, looking away from his heated gaze, “Well unfortunately for you, the moments passed.”

“Alright,” He responds, his tone almost mocking, “Your loss I suppose.”

He stands and turns away from her before giving her the opportunity to respond, strolls towards the shower and divests himself of his shorts, leaving him completely naked.

Her breath hitches in her throat at the sight of his nude, rather delectable looking ass now being in full view.

Acting like he doesn’t have a care in the world, Liam turns on the shower and stands underneath the steady stream of water, now giving her a side view of him, completely visible to her through the glass screen.

She can’t turn her eyes away, focusing in on how the water runs down his sculpted chest and follows the V of his hips; briefly, she imagines her own hands taking that same path.

Her fingers begin to grip on the sides of the tub so that she can keep them _there_ rather than wandering to where they’d much prefer to be, especially when he starts to lather up the soap and run it over himself – something she had done _for him_ only last week when she _could,_ and they weren’t in the middle of a stupid no-sex challenge.

It doesn’t go unnoticed by her that he hasn’t yet asked her how the rest of her day had gone which was something he usually enquired about immediately upon arriving home. It doesn’t take a genius for her to figure out that it’s because he knows it will distract her from her salacious thoughts.

Again, Liam knowing her better than anyone really did have its downfalls at times.

Fallon watches as he moves to rub the soap suds onto his back and groans out loud, a sound of pain, his muscles already punishing him for their workout.

She should go over there, approach him from behind and lather the soap up in her own hands to caress down his back. She could place gentle kisses there, moving over his shoulder, massaging her hands over his glutes as an excuse to touch his butt. Then, of course, he might turn around and grab her unexpectedly, lifting her up so that her legs can wrap around his waist as he pins her to the wall, kissing her with passion. Once their lips eventually part, he might look her in the eyes and tell her that he surrenders to her completely before sliding his hard member into her dripping core, grasping onto her tightly as he thrusts into her, hard.

Fallon squirms _,_ her legs squeezing together, providing just a hint of relief and she chastises herself for allowing her mind to get carried away with itself once again.

By the time Liam turns off the water and steps out of the shower she knows he can see it written on her face how turned on she is right now. The grin he throws her way tells her as such as he grabs a towel and wraps it around his hips.

She thinks he’s about to leave the bathroom which would provide her with the opportunity to _breathe_ for a moment, but instead of leaving, he surprises her by kneeling behind her, placing his forearms on the side of the tub, surrounding her.

She feels his lips press against her ear when he whispers to her, his voice low, “Doesn’t look like the moment has passed to me, Fallon. I have to say, I’m flattered that my naked body alone could cause this reaction in you. It’s good to know you’re still so attracted to me.”

“I’m marrying you, of course, I’m attracted to you,” She bites back, hearing him chuckle in response. “But I’m the one naked in the tub and you don’t seem at all interested.”

“No, no, no,” He says, “You know I think you’re the most beautiful, sexy, gorgeous woman on the planet, so let’s not go there.” He places a kiss against her ear, making her melt into the touch. “I saw the way that you were looking at me in the shower, you should have joined me, I’m sure we would have had plenty of fun. Especially because I know how wet you are right now without me even touching you, I can just _tell._ Check for me, babe, take your right hand and feel yourself.”

Against all better judgement, she follows his instruction, her pure need to calm the throbbing sensation at her core taking over. She moans as soon as her slender fingers rub over her core, “Lower down, Fal.”

She acquiesces, the tip of her fingers reaching her entrance, “Push one in sweetheart.”

“ _God._ ” She says as she obeys, curling her finger almost instantly and although it’s erotic, it’s nowhere near enough.

“Well? Just how wet are you, Fallon?” He asks, his breath tickling her ear as he speaks.

“Very,” She pants out, trying to establish some sort of rhythm with her finger as she feels Liam smile against the skin of her neck. He places a kiss there, softly, lingering.

“Add another finger,” He demands.

She isn’t sure why she had waited for him to command her, perhaps because it’s _very_ sexy having Liam be the one to tell her what to do for a change.

“There you go, now slowly move them in and out, yes like that.”

Her head rolls back, resting on his shoulder, her eyes closed as she enjoys the sensations and sparks of pleasure; softly whimpering, occasionally saying his name like a prayer on her lips.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think those manicured fingers of yours can quite reach that spot that you need them to reach, can they?” He asks, running his teeth over the shell of her ear, giving the skin a little nip before continuing, “Would you prefer for me to push my fingers in, nice and deep? Or maybe you want more than my fingers? Do you want to feel me throbbing inside of you? Feel me cum into you and let it drip down your thigh? Is that what you want, Fallon? Tell me.”

Without thinking about it, she blurts out, her voice high pitched and strained, “I want to cum.”

“And what do you need to say to allow for that to happen?”

“Oh, you bastard.” She snaps, suddenly coming back to her senses, her eyes shooting open, her hand stilling, sliding her fingers out and grasping at the side of the tub again, “Get out.”

He chuckles self-assuredly and it only makes her anger boil, “I’m just following the rules of the game, Sweetheart.”

She turns to look him in the eyes, “I mean it, Liam.”

Placing his palms out in surrender, he stands and begins to back away from the tub, “Okay, okay, I’m going, I’m going. I’ll go sort dinner out.” He throws her a wink, knowing she isn’t _really_ angry with him and more with herself for allowing herself to get into this state. 

“ _Just go.”_ She grits out, feeling her cheeks beginning to burn.

Once he’s gone and the bathroom door is shut behind him, she lets out a long sigh, wondering how much more of this she can possibly take.


	4. Tuesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amidst some business drama, Fallon still manages to find time to try to seduce her fiance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other but they have to stop before the other one gets close to orgasm  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction).

The shrill ringing of her phone is what jolts Fallon awake way too early on Tuesday morning. She groans into her pillow, her hand fumbling on the nightstand for the offensive object before eventually retrieving it, glancing at the caller ID and answering the call.

“What now, Allison?” She mumbles down the phone, a snappiness evident in her voice from the displeasure of being woken at five AM.

_“I’m so sorry to call you this early, but you would also kill me if I didn’t tell you right away, so I thought it would be best to call, I mean I guess I could have sent an email, but it’s pretty urgent-”_

“Just spit it out."

 _“Okay, sorry.”_ Fallon hears her assistant take in a deep breath, almost like she is gearing herself up for what she is about to say before speaking with haste, _“Trident Corp have put in an offer for the contract from Red Marks Studios and it looks like they’re going to accept it.”_

Fallon bolts upright, suddenly completely awake, her eyes wide open, “What? No! How? That deal was watertight yesterday, how did Trident even find out about the contract?”

_“Well, someone must have leaked it, including how much we are offering because they’re promising to double it. Apparently, a representative from Trident accosted David Fisher from Red Marks at dinner last night and convinced him to take their deal instead.”_

Fallon practically growls, anger bubbling in her veins instantly. Having a rat somewhere in her company was the last thing she wanted to have to deal with right now, especially one that was sabotaging deals that her company required to secure her planned expansion, “Alright, contact David Fisher’s people, get him to meet me for breakfast, somewhere fancy, tell him that we’re interested in offering more as a thank you for agreeing to the deal yesterday. See what strings we can pull, more money is fine but we need something better, something that Trident can’t offer. Then, make sure the lawyers get that contract written up, stat. Got that?”

_“Yes, Miss Carrington, I’ll get right on that.”_

“Oh, and then I want you to find out everything you can about who leaked this so that I can come down on them as hard as possible.”

She doesn’t even wait for Allison to respond before ripping the phone from her ear, ending the call and carelessly depositing it on the white bedsheets, proceeding to place her head in her hands, letting out a long sigh. And yet, there isn’t any time to dwell, she has to _think._ She wills her mind to begin the necessary action planning, considering all the ways she could out-manoeuvre her competition, knowing she’ll have to be exceptionally shrewd to win this one.

“Can you do that to me afterwards, please?” A low, raspy voice speaks to her from underneath the bedsheets.

“Hm?” She asks, hardly paying attention, already lost in her quickly calculating head, “Do what?”

“Come down on me as hard as possible,” The disembodied voice speaks back.

Despite her work-related stress, she still huffs out a laugh, rolling her eyes and playfully hits the man-sized lump to her left with the back of her hand.

“Ow! That’s not quite what I had in mind.”

“Oh, sorry, next time you’ll have to specify,” She grabs at the bed sheets and pulls them down to reveal the face of her fiancé, his dirty blonde hair all adorably fluffed.

“You know what I meant,” He’s clearly still incredibly sleepy, blinking rapidly to adjust his eyes to the light, yawning slightly, and the sight of him gives Fallon a fleeting pang of guilt.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” She mutters as she affectionately runs a hand through his hair, attempting to tame it. 

Liam shrugs, stifling another yawn, “It’s fine, what’s going on? It sounds pretty serious.”

“Some assholes are trying to steal the contract from Red Marks.”

His eyebrows furrow in confusion as he looks up at her, “I thought you closed that deal yesterday?”

Fallon sighs, “So did I, we agreed to it, but we have to wait for my lawyers to draw up the contracts so _technically_ they can still take a different deal until it’s official.”

She knows better than to not take failed business deals personally, but this company was her heart and soul and she finds she can’t help the jolt of anxiety that all of this causes to begin stirring inside of her, waking up insecurities like demons in her head, telling her she isn’t good enough.

Liam seems to watch all of this happen, almost like he’s somehow got a window into the inner workings of Fallon Carrington and he grabs hold of her hand, placing a chaste kiss on the back of her palm, breaking her out of her spiralling thoughts.

“Hey,” He says softly, bringing her attention back to him, “All it will take is a bit of that Fallon Carrington charm and they’ll be eating out of the palm of your hand.” His hand comes up to cup her cheek, “They’re not just making a deal with a company, they’re making a deal with _you,_ make sure they know what that’s worth.”

Even after the stunt he’d pulled last night, it was impossible for her to stay mad with him after saying such sweet words of encouragement, his confidence in her persistently unwavering.

Rather than respond, Fallon simply smiles at him and leans down to kiss his lips, knowing that this was likely the last moment of the morning she would get which was actually filled with calm and happiness. Her mouth lingers there, pushing against his, savouring the feeling of his pliant lips and the scrape of his stubble against her chin, before pulling back a few inches.

“If you need my help…” He begins, but Fallon cuts him off with a shake of her head.

“You already did help,” She responds.

Fallon had asked Allison to think of what she could offer to swing the contract in their favor, but Liam was right, it was nothing materialistic they could offer which would win the company over. It was _her_ and everything her sharp intellect could offer. It was time she began to rely on that rather than throwing money at every problem she encountered.

She places a quick peck on Liam’s cheek before clambering off of the bed and walking into her wardrobe, searching for the perfect outfit to go into battle with. After a quick scan, her eyes narrow in on an all-black, custom suit with a subtle leather effect printed over the material that she hasn’t taken out for a spin yet and decides it’s _perfect._ All she has to do is make sure her hair and makeup is fierce and she’ll be fully equipped for the war ahead.

~

It takes her almost an hour to get ready, ensuring her hair is perfectly curled, her eyeliner is as sharp as possible; she even paints her nails a crimson red to match her lipstick and the soles of her Louboutin heels. Then there’s the suit; smart, sophisticated but still sexy, hugging her figure perfectly to accentuate her hips, showing just the right amount of cleavage to show off her femininity but still keeps things to the imagination. She dons the set of peach colored pearls Liam bought for her on the anniversary of the first time they’d slept together, matching the diamond on her left hand and spritzes on her signature rose-scented perfume.

She twists in her full-length mirror, patting herself down to ensure she’s satisfied with the look.

“So, what do you think?” She asks out loud, turning towards the bed when she doesn’t receive a response, noticing that Liam’s fallen back to sleep, snoozing peacefully on the pillow. A small smile appears on her face as she approaches him, “Hey,” She says softly, nudging Liam back awake.

He startles, sitting up straight and runs his hand over his face, “Sorry, what?”

“How do I look?” She repeats.

His blue eyes scan her, widening instantly as he takes her in, “Holy fuck.”

“Is that all your brain can come up with?”

Liam moves so that he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, still staring intently, “Right now it is, yes.”

“Liam, I’m about to go for breakfast with a man who could make or break Fallon Unlimited’s planned expansion and I need for him to take me seriously, could you try to be a tad more objective?” She’s insistent with her question, her voice clipped, demanding.

Acquiescing to her request, his eyes travel down her torso once more, taking his time as his line of sight progresses to her cleavage. He quirks an eyebrow, meeting her gaze once he’s fully scanned her body yet again.

“Let’s just say that I think that every man who you encounter today would happily fall to his knees for you.”

She smirks at that, appreciative of his answer, hoping that he’s right, she needs this win today.

Thankfully, Liam’s judgement was usually pretty reliable, despite being obviously bias about her appearance, which, as she thinks about it was _very_ complimentary.

As she looks down at him he’s showing all the right signs to indicate that she has a clear opportunity right now to punish him for what he did to her last night. She only has 5 minutes to spare before she needs to be leaving, but that would be _perfect_.

“All but one, right?” She saunters towards him, standing in between his knees, her hands on his shoulders.

“I would if you asked… Using the right words, of course.” He replies, his voice low, staring at her lips and it doesn’t go unnoticed by her.

“Oh honey,” Fallon runs a finger across his sharp jawline, forcing his chin up, his eyes flicking up to meet hers, “Fallon Carrington isn’t going to be surrendering to _anyone_ in this suit.”

Liam’s tongue darts out to lick his lips, “I wouldn’t expect her to.”

“Good. Anyway, it’s still early.” She leans forward like a predator, a devilish smile playing on her lips, “You should get back into bed,” She says before pushing hard on his shoulders to cause him to fall back against the bedsheets, smirking down at him in victory before climbing on top of his body, her brunette curls tumbling onto his bare chest. She rocks her hips a little, rubbing against the swell in his underwear, her hair tickling his skin before placing her hands either side of his head, caging him in.

He looks up at her in wonder, attempting to calculate what her next move is going to be, his hands moving over her ass cheeks, giving them a playful squeeze.

“Do you remember these pearls?”

Liam smirks, “Of course I do, I also remember you _stealing them._ ”

“I didn’t _steal_ them,” She says in defence, “I _found_ them.”

“Keep telling yourself that, babe,” He responds in a challenging manner.

“Do you know what I think?” She asks, averting the conversation, causing him to squint at her, clearly wondering what game she is playing.

“What?”

She leans down, now practically laying on his body, their hips perfectly aligned, their lips only inches away from one another.

“I think that you’re incredibly turned on knowing that I’m going to be wearing these all day as I dominate businessmen when you know that the last time I wore them you had me completely at your mercy.” 

“It’s entirely possible that you’re correct about that.” He responds in a raspy voice, amusement glistening in his eyes.

“Well, the feeling in your underwear confirms it.” She whispers smugly.

His mouth opens as if to protest, but she cuts off his opportunity to respond by pressing her lips against his, hard. He reacts immediately, pushing against her in a bruising kiss, falling into a desperate rhythm. Fallon runs the tip of her tongue against his bottom lip, asking for access, which he eventually grants, allowing her to dip her tongue into his mouth, exploring. She moans when he pushes his own tongue against hers, giving her just a taste before retreating, teasing. Naturally, she chases him down, dominating him, stealing his air. It’s only when she feels her lungs beginning to burn from the lack of oxygen that she pulls away almost violently with a _smack_ of their lips _._

“What was that for?” Liam asks, panting slightly, breathless.

“Just something for you to think about,” She traces a finger across his bottom lip, smearing the remnants of her blood-red lipstick which she’s going to have to reapply, “Until I get back.”

He looks up at her like he’s completely at her mercy, his throat closing, gulping subtly.

She takes advantage of the situation, having seemingly rendered him speechless and slowly kisses down his chest, leaving crimson stains in the shape of her lips in her wake, giving the appearance that she’s marking her territory.

He catches her gaze, a hungry look in his eyes as she moves further down onto his abs, causing him to suck in a breath, his muscles involuntarily rippling under her touch.

Softly, she brings her fingers over his shoulder, her nails lightly scraping over his skin, following the line her mouth had travelled as she shuffles further down his body and eventually eases herself off the bed, her knees hitting the floor so that she can bend and breathe over the hardening bulge in his boxers.

“So, you want me to come down on you as hard as possible, Liam?” She asks, her voice sultry, “You want me to sit on your lap and ride you hard and fast, circling my hips the way we both love? You want me to take control while you just lay there and enjoy the feeling of me having an orgasm on your dick over and over again? Would you want to grab my hips and thrust deep into me as you cum? I’d let you, you know I would.”

She also knows that he wants to say yes to all of the above, it’s so clearly written on his face, but he denies himself the pleasure of giving in, a feeling Fallon’s become all too familiar with these past few days.

“This isn’t going to work, Fallon.” He warns, now propped up on his elbows to look down at her with a hungry expression.

Sadly, Fallon knows that’s true. Liam’s been good at their little game thus far, but today, Fallon’s in the mood to be victorious over every foe she encounters. Currently, Liam is one of her enemies, so she decides she’s going to treat him as one and play a very long and very torturous game with him.

As innocently as she can, she smiles back at him, “Well, would you look at this, you think I can bring every man to his knees and somehow you’ve managed to get me on mine. What a special man you must be.”

Fallon knows how much Liam loves to be reminded that despite being such a strong woman who answers to no man, in the right circumstances, she’ll give herself over to him and him alone.

“Well,” He begins, sitting up so that he can thread his fingers through her silky hair, careful not to tousle her perfectly styled curls, “If I’m _so_ special, why don’t you prove it?”

“You want me to prove it?” She asks breathily.

Liam nods subtly, the corner of his lips curled up, “Yeah.”

“Well, I probably _could_ do that,” Her index finger traces over the bulge in his black boxers lazily, “By doing something like _this._ ”

Without warning, she surges forward and mouths over him, easily making out where his tip is underneath the fabric now that he’s fully erect and presses her tongue against it, drawing a deep moan from him.

She laps at the spot, wetting the material, before tactfully pressing her lips against him and sucks as hard as she can, _exactly_ as she had fantasized only last night, except in her mind the situation had been reversed. 

“ _Fuck, Fal.”_ He pants out, clearly enjoying the spark of pleasure she was eliciting in him with her mouth, which is why he whines out in disappointment when she pulls back and glances at her Rolex watch.

“But, unfortunately for you, your time has run out.”

He gawks at her, his eyes wide and watches as she moves to stand on her heels, his hand dropping from her hair as she now towers over him.

“I’ve got contracts to save, empires to run, worlds to take over, you know, that sort of thing,” She says casually, “So I’m afraid, mon chéri, we’ll simply have to continue this another time. Could you pass me my phone?” 

Liam shakes his head, “You’ll be the death of me, Fallon Carrington,” He says as he reaches for the phone she had left on the bed earlier that morning.

“Aw,” She growls out, fussing his hair, “Come on, it’s not like you would have surrendered, I would have had to stop anyway.” She says, taking the phone from his hand as he holds it out for her.

“You don’t know that for sure.” He retorts back.

“Oh?” She crowds him intimidatingly, “Tell me you surrender right now and I’ll carry on.”

He simply smirks up at her, keeping his mouth closed.

“See?” She leans down, hovering above his mouth, “Called your bluff.”

Liam leans in closer, attempting to capture her lips, but just as he’s merely a few millimetres away, Fallon pulls back and denies him a kiss, tapping him on his cheek with the palm of her hand instead, “Have a good day, honey.”

She throws him a wink and saunters out of the room, making sure to sway her hips more than usual, knowing he’s watching her every move.

“Good luck!” She hears him call after her and she halts at the threshold of their room to turn to look back at him.

“Thank you, oh and don’t forget rule number 5 – just in case you were tempted to give yourself a helping hand.” Liam lifts his hands up, showing her his palms to prove he isn’t currently palming himself through his boxers, “Good boy.”

As she turns to walk away she catches one last thing that he offers her, a simple statement of fact, but something that she can carry with her for the rest of the day as she fights for her company, a simple, “I love you.”

She doesn’t turn around or say it back, just continues walking, making her way through the manor which was just beginning to buzz with life, the staff preparing for the day.

Needing some time to mentally prepare, she opts to be driven into the city rather than taking her Porsche. After re-applying her lipstick and repeating her informal pitch to this David Fisher guy a few times, she takes a second to reach for her phone and types out a few words.

_I love you too._

_[Sent – 06:30]_

~

“I’ve got a food delivery for Fallon Carrington?” A young man carrying a paper bag announces, entering Fallon’s office with Allison quickly in tow.

“Uh, she can’t be disturbed and I don’t think we ordered anything,” Her assistant says, attempting to keep the man at bay, flustered after Fallon had insisted she not be disturbed under any circumstances unless it had _anything_ do with a possible last-minute ditch attempt by Trident to steal the contract from under their nose again.

He glances at the phone in his hand, “There are specific instructions saying: ‘She’ll probably say she didn’t order anything, so just put it on the table on the left-hand side of her office and leave.’”

Fallon’s hands still on the keyboard mid-email as she properly takes in the commotion around her and focuses her attention on the large paper bag the delivery man places on the low table in her office. The logo is instantly recognisable, coming from her favorite sushi place. _Liam._

“Did those instructions come with a name?” She asks, raising her voice so she can be heard across the large room.

“Uh, it’s signed as ‘John Southside’.”

Fallon chuckles, instantly smiling for the first time that day since leaving the manor early in the morning.

“Thanks.” She throws back and waits for him to leave before grabbing the food and bringing it to her desk, her stomach suddenly rumbling after only eating a few pieces of fruit at breakfast, her stress levels numbing her appetite. The sight of the food reminds her that she’s practically starving and digs in straight away, sending Liam a quick text as she eats.

_Thank you ♥_

_[Sent – 13:45]_

_You’re welcome xx_

_[Received – 13:46]_

_  
How is it all going?  
Do you own Trident yet? _

_[Received – 13:47]_

_Ha. No, but that’s not a bad idea._

_[Sent – 13:48]_

_I’m surprised you didn’t think of it._

_[Received – 13:49]_

_Don’t get cocky._

_[Sent – 13:50]_

_😉_

_[Received – 13:51]_

_Seriously though?_

_[Received – 13:51]_

_The contract is secure… For now.  
I gave my lawyers until the end of the day to get it completely drafted up.  
We’re expecting Trident to try something last minute.  
[Sent – 13:52]_

_  
  
_

_That sounds really stressful, just waiting._

_[Received – 13:53]_

_It is.  
I think you should send me a photo of those baby blues of yours to make me feel better… _

_[Sent – 13:53]_

_[Photo Received – 13:54]_

Fallon laughs, taking in the photo of Liam with his chin in his hand, his eyes wide, a sad, pouty expression on his lips. She can vaguely make out the plants surrounding him, recognising that he’s sat in his favorite room in the manor. He often uses the light and airy space to write in, finding it mainly unoccupied.

_This chapter is going well then?_

_[Sent 13:55]_

_I keep getting distracted every time I look out of the window._

_[Photo Received – 13:55]_

She rolls her eyes, looking at the photo he’s sent her of the jacuzzi in the distance. Although, she does have to admit to herself that she would probably find it difficult to concentrate too, thinking about what they’d done in there only a few days ago, back when they actually used to have sex. Her cheeks begin to flush, remembering how it had felt to have Liam’s strong arms wrapped around her, how amazing it had felt to be stimulated by those jets and _god_ how he’d just kept hitting that sweet spot until she came undone in his arms.

Her hand goes to her chest, feeling at her warm skin, which doesn’t help matters when her fingers land on the peach pearls wrapped around her neck. Memories of _that_ night come flooding back and she begins to feel that familiar sensation of pleasure building up between her legs.

A wicked thought strikes her and she looks around the office, ensuring she isn’t being watched before bringing the pearls up between her teeth and snaps a photo with her front camera, sending it instantly.

_Oh, would you like to think about this instead?_

_[Sent – 13:57]_

_I’d prefer it if I was the reason that you were biting down on those pretty pearls._

_[Received – 13:57]_

_Maybe I will if you give me a reason to.  
Why don’t you show me what effect that photo has had on you?_

_[Sent – 13:58]_

_I don’t know you mean, I think you’re going to have to tell me exactly what it is that you want._

_[Received – 13:59]_

She shakes her head, no, Liam knows _exactly_ what it is that she wants to see, but he’s just playing hard to get.

_Undo your shirt.  
Show me._

_[Sent – 14:00]_

_[Photo Received – 14:02]_

Fallon knows she can gaze at his body pretty much any time that she likes, but there’s just something about seeing it immortalized and out of reach from her that _really_ turns her on.

_Would you let me run my fingers across your gorgeous body, or would you stop me like you did the last time?_

_[Sent – 14:03]_

_I suppose that depends on how bad you’ve been._

_[Received – 14:03]_

Involuntarily, she bites her lip, thinking back to that night, the one that they’ll never be able to truly replicate because it had been the start of something new between them. Something exciting.

_When am I ever a good girl?_

_[Sent – 14:04]_

_When I’ve got you on your back with your legs over my shoulders._

_[Received -14:04]_

For a moment, she has to contemplate not texting Liam back because he actually makes her moan a little, right there at her desk, his words making her visualise the position so clearly, and she feels her core begin to tingle. But against her better judgement, her fingers type out a reply.

_Touché.  
Okay Mommy wants to see more, go a bit lower, please._

_[Sent – 14:05]_

_[Photo Received – 14:06]_

_Those jeans are in the way, undo the zipper._

_[Sent – 14:06]_

_Fallon, I’m in the middle of the manor. Anyone could see._

_[Received – 14:07]_

_That’s never stopped you before._

_[Sent – 14:07]_

_Touché._

_[Received – 14:07]_

She smiles at the word being thrown back at her until she receives the next photo.

_[Photo received – 14:08]_

He isn’t wearing any underwear, so with the zipper of his jeans down she can see his member straining against the rest of the material, his tip swollen, resting against his stomach, and _fuck_ she badly wants to be there with him right now.

Then again, not being there with him will only work in her favor. This is the second time today she’s made him hard, at this rate she estimates she’ll have him surrendering in a matter of hours.

_Looks like my man needs his girl._

_[Sent – 14:08]_

_He does.  
Too bad his girl’s too busy taking over the world._

_[Received – 14:09]_

_Your girl can still do quite a bit from her desk.  
Touch yourself, nice and gentle, imagine that it’s me.  
_ _You have one minute, I want to see it all._

_[Sent – 14:09]_

It’s a long minute while her eyes remain glued to the screen, her imagination going wild, visualising him right now, looking around to check that no one could see him, palming himself first before wrapping his hand around his tip, breathing out in relief at finally putting pressure on his straining member. She always loves to see the look on his face when she first touches him, that look of bliss that crosses over his expression, the knowledge that she can do this to him, her gorgeous fiancé at her mercy.

_[Video Received – 14:11]_

Instantly, she grabs her handbag on the left-hand side of her desk and desperately roots around for her headphones, placing them in her ears as soon as she manages to find them, _needing_ to hear the way his breath hitches and changes, maybe even getting a moan if she’s lucky.

The second they connect she hits play.

She was right with her vision, watching as his hand covers his whole groin, his fingers giving himself a gentle squeeze, his hips rising out the chair a little to chase the pressure, letting out a breath in her ears. It does things to her that she should not be experiencing in the middle of the day sitting at her desk, a heat flushing over her skin, the desire just beginning to burn her. Then he strokes a finger up his shaft, following the line of a vein there, _exactly_ the way that Fallon would have done if she was there. His touch is light, as she’d instructed, as he draws slow circles over the tip with his thumb, spreading a small amount of precum.

That’s when he does something she doesn’t expect him to do. He _talks to her._

“Is this what you wanted to see, Fal? How hard I am for you? How much I want to cum for you? _God,_ just thinking about those pearls around your neck, in your mouth, biting down on them like you did that night, I almost came just looking at that photo. Especially after you left me the way that you did this morning, that was _very_ naughty of you.”

His voice sounds wrecked, just the way it does in the middle of sex, and it makes Fallon squirm in her chair. She watches as his fingers properly wrap around his member and slowly begins to stroke himself, letting out a low moan.

_“Fallon-“_

The video cuts out.

 _Damn it._ _Just as he was getting to the good stuff,_ she thinks.

Frantically, she taps on the video again to see that he sent her 60 seconds _exactly._

_You look close, honey.  
Don’t forget rule number 5._

_[Sent – 14:13]_

_Trust me, I remember the rules.  
Did you enjoy the show?_

_[Received – 14:13]_

She smirks, an idea forming in her mind. Tentatively, she looks around the room again, double-checking she isn’t being watched before swivelling her chair so that it’s facing the window, holding her phone out with the camera on. Her hand comes up to pull the fabric of her blazer and lace bra away and places her finger on her hardened nipple, giving it a gentle tease and snaps a photo.

_I’ll let you come to your own conclusion._

_[Sent – 14:14]_

The response is immediate.

_Omg, babe._

_[Sent – 14:14]_

Her own heart may be racing right now, her whole body aching for Liam’s touch, but in 10 minutes time, she will throw herself back into work and completely forget about it. Liam, on the other hand, will be left staring out at the jacuzzi willing his boner away, trying to write the next chapter of his book with this photo which she knows is going to drive him wild. She smirks, knowing that she’s got him _exactly_ where she wants him for later.

_Duty calls.  
Thanks for lunch, see you later.  
♥  
[Sent – 14:15]_

_Tease._

_[Received – 14:15]_

_It’s a good job you’re cute._

_[Received – 14:15]_

_Love you, good luck. x_

_[Received – 14:15]_

~

Liam greets her in the foyer with a kiss when she arrives home. She feels exhausted and just wants to retreat to her bedroom and put her plan in motion, but is beckoned by Blake for the pair of them to join him, making it home just in time for the staff to be serving up dinner. Considering it gives her the opportunity to boast about her successful day, she yields, and they sit with both him and Cristal.

She uses most of the time to discuss the breakfast meeting she’d had with David and how Trident had attempted one last-minute ditch attempt to swipe the contract by sending the man a whole case of his favorite champagne. Thankfully, Fallon used her intel to discover this ingenious plan and managed to intervene, diverting the champagne delivery so that it never reached Red Marks studios.

“Oh that’s where all that Dom came from, I wondered who’d ordered all of that.” Blake comments, leaning out of the way slightly to allow the staff to take away his empty plates.

“Consider it a contribution for the toasts at the fundraiser this Saturday.” Fallon throws back with a smile, causing Blake to bark out a laugh.

“Will do. Speaking of toasts,” Blake raises his wine glass, “Here’s one to you, Fallon. It sounds like you did yourself and your company proud today.”

“Here, here,” Liam adds, lifting his own glass without hesitation.

It hits her in that moment how only a few years ago she was so desperate to get that kind of validation from Blake she would have done almost anything to earn it. Things have altered so much over such a short period of time; her whole self-worth used to hinge on the opinion of her father. Now, she takes it as it is, a compliment that merely reinforces that she _is,_ and _should_ be proud of herself.

“Thank you,” She says, clinking her glass with Liam’s, watching as Blake and Cristal mirror them and takes a sip of the drink. 

“What about you, honey?” Fallon asks, turning her attention to Liam, “Did you finish your chapter?”

He gives her a knowing look, his lips pursed as if to say, ‘Yes, no thanks to you’, “Eventually.”

“Oh, good. It sounds like it’s been a very long and _hard_ day for us all.” Fallon returns, raising her eyebrows at him suggestively, relishing in watching Liam’s neck flush in front of her eyes, clearly thinking about that video he’d sent her. Subtly, he shakes his head at her, trying not to laugh and brings his wine glass back to his lips, attempting to appear casual.

“Not Cristal,” Blake butts in, pulling Fallon back to the more mature conversation they’d all been having, “She’s spent most of the day riding.”

Liam almost chokes on his wine, spluttering slightly and coughs to cover it up. Fallon suppresses laughing, pretending to act concerned instead, asking him if he’s okay, rubbing circles on his back.

“I’ve been jumping, actually,” Cristal corrects before speaking directly to Fallon, “Thank you for allowing me to use Snickers.”

“How was she?” Fallon asks, her fingers still absentmindedly caressing Liam’s back.

“A little tentative at first, but once she got used to me she did great.”

“She’ll warm up to you quicker if you offer her a carrot first,” Liam adds in, humor evident in his voice, and Fallon throws him a challenging look for bringing that embarrassing moment up again.

“Great, I’ll try that,” Cristal replies, oblivious to their inside joke.

Fallon swallows down the last of her wine, suddenly feeling the need to escape before one of them says or does something too obvious, “Well as lovely as this has been to catch up, I am exhausted,” She announces, turning to Liam, “Is it okay if we go upstairs?”

“Sure,” Liam responds immediately, his voice soft and stands to help her up.

Fallon wastes no time hovering around, throwing a quick goodnight at Blake and Cristal before taking Liam’s hand, pulling him away from the dining table and directs him up the stairs. Her plan had been disrupted for long enough, although she does suppose that having dinner gave them the energy that she hopes they’ll be needing tonight. A smirk forms on her face at the thought.

“I’m so proud of you, you know that right?” Liam says in an almost whisper, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

His confession knocks her back a little, his sweetness making her almost feel bad about what she’s going to do next, _almost._

“Of course I do,” She answers as they reach the last step and stumbles, needing to lean into Liam to stop herself from falling, “Ow,” She grimaces, “Sorry, can we just stop for a second?”

“Whoa, yeah, what’s wrong?” He uses his hands to steady her, his eyes assessing, checking her over for any visible signs that she’s hurt.

“It’s just that I’ve been rushed off my feet for most of the day and my whole body aches.”

In her defence, it isn’t a lie, she’s just potentially over-playing it a little to work in her favor.

“Oh sweetheart,” He says, running his hands up and down her arm, his concern reflected in his blue eyes as he meets hers, “I’ll tell you what, come here,” He beckons, pulling her closer, “Put your arm around me.”

Fallon concedes as he bends slightly and places one arm under her legs, the other supporting her back, lifting her off the ground with ease.

“Oh,” She breathes out a laugh as soon as she is securely in his arms, gazing into his eyes, “Why thank you, Mr Ridley.” 

“You good?”

She nods, “Yeah, I’m good.”

As Liam walks them down the corridor towards their room, Fallon takes advantage of their position, using the opportunity to press a soft kiss against his jawline, “I missed you today,” she whispers into his ear, putting a flicker of a smirk on his face.

“Did you not see enough of me on that video?” He asks, keeping his tone hushed as he reaches the door to their room.

Fallon stretches to push them wide open before Liam brings her into the room, gently placing her on her feet by the fire.

It’s like flicking a switch, one moment the mood is sweet and romantic and the next thing they know they’re all alone in their room, holding onto one another and something _shifts._

“No,” She responds, swaying closer to him, “I don’t think I did.”

Liam rests his hands on her waist, keeping her steady and gazes at her with a hungry look in his eyes. The air suddenly feels thick and heavy; under normal circumstances, she would have expected him to kiss her before proceeding to lay her down in front of the fire and slowly make love to her. Unfortunately, of course, she knows better. She knows that Liam thinks he’s going to win the game tonight by seducing her, but what he _doesn’t_ know is that Fallon’s 2 steps ahead of him, already having anticipated all of this.

“Take off your clothes,” He says with fervour, his voice hushed.

“Excuse me?” She says in mock surprise.

“I’m going to make you feel good, Fallon. Don’t worry, I’ll only touch you where you ask me to.” He leans in slowly, places a chaste kiss to her lips before pulling back and winking.

Then he’s gone, closing the doors before walking over to the bed and pulls their white bedsheets off, placing them over a chair and busies himself finding a particular bottle in a cupboard in the bathroom, placing it by the bedside once he locates it. He lights all of the candles around the room, casting a sensual atmosphere around the place.

Meanwhile, Fallon strips slowly, letting her clothes fall to the ground without care, noticing that he isn’t willing to glance her way which was beyond irritating. After taking off her heels and suit pants, with exaggerated movements, she opens her blazer and he must catch her out of the corner of his eye, taking in her lace bra which he’d already caught a glimpse of today in that photo she’d sent him. He freezes for a moment, staring at her breasts as she unhooks her bra and lets that fall to the floor with the rest of her clothes, leaving her in only a black thong and her pearls.

“I’m guessing you meant _all_ of my clothes?” She asks seductively, looking at him from under her thick lashes.

The corner of his mouth twitches up, “I did. However,” He strides towards her, stopping once he is centimetres away from her body and strokes his fingers over her hip, placing them underneath the lace of her underwear, “I can take care of those for you.”

Slowly, he bends as he pulls them down her legs, gently lifting her feet in unison to divest her of the article of clothing. He looks up at her, meeting her eyes, a look of pure adoration in his as he runs his warm hands up her thighs and places a gentle kiss there before gradually standing. He brings his hands up to her hair and pulls it into a ponytail, securing it with a hair tie from around his wrist which he must have picked up from the bathroom. She has to tilt her chin to look up at him now that she’s without her heels and she can’t help but stare at his lips.

“Come here,” He says as if something inside of him breaks, and he grabs the bottom of her ass with the palms of his hands, using his strength to lift her so that her legs are wrapped around his hips, her arms going around his shoulders and she crashes her lips against his once she is comfortably off of the ground.

Their mouths find a desperate rhythm, his tongue meeting hers in an open-mouthed kiss and she pushes her lips harder against him, her hands coming up to his hair.

Liam walks them somewhere – Fallon hardly takes any notice until she feels herself being placed gently against the mattress, Liam breaking the kiss as he hovers over her.

“Turn over, sweetheart. Put your head on the pillow,” He commands, still catching his breath from their kiss.

She smiles up at him, “You should take off your shirt, you know. It’s nice and you don’t want to get it ruined because of what we’re about to do.”

He smirks and begins to unbutton his shirt for the second time that day at her request as she turns her body, laying on her front, resting her cheek on the pillow at the top of the bed, crossing her arms underneath.

“Your jeans too,” She adds. She knows he’s followed her recommendation when she hears the familiar sound of his zipper and then a thud as they land on the floor.

Then Liam’s back, his strong body straddled over her thighs and reaches for the bottle by the side of the bed. She glances back at him briefly, taking note that at some point in the day he’d decided to put on some underwear.

“Where do you want me to start, babe? The usual place?” He asks, his voice low and raspy as he rubs his hand over her skin as if he’s looking for something, “Here?”

“Oh _fuck_. That’s the spot, Liam.”

“Yeah?” He asks, “Want me to go harder?”

“Yes _.”_ She hisses out and moans out when he does exactly that, pressing his oil-slicked fingers against the spot below her right shoulder blade, directly onto a small knot in her muscles.

Involuntarily, she grabs at the pillow, groaning.

“Try to relax, sweetheart.”

He eases off the spot, rubs at it gently for a moment as he waits for her to stop tensing the muscles in her arms.

“There you go,” He says quietly, “Where’s the pain radiating to?”

“Lower.” She answers back and feels him carefully tracing his fingers down.

“Ah, yeah right there.” She moans out breathily, purposely sounding sexual, “Go deep, Liam.” She commands.

“Okay, just relax, alright?”

“Okay.” She nods her head and closes her eyes, anticipating the pain.

He presses down on the spot, _hard._ It hurts, but she simply holds her breath during the worst of it, waiting for the pain to subside.

“Is that feeling better yet?” He asks, easing off a little, feeling at the spot.

“Yeah, it’s going away.” She responds.

He rubs there a little more, applying firm pressure, “It’s undoing, you already feel looser there.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” She says once the dull ache disappears completely.

“Good.” He halts his hands, placing his palms on the small of her back. “You really need to have better posture when you’re sat at your desk, babe.”

She sighs, “I _know,_ but I also know I have a very sexy fiancé with very skilful fingers who will give me a deep tissue massage whenever I need one.”

He barks out a short laugh, “Very lucky for you indeed. Alright, do you think you have any knots anywhere else?”

“No,” She returns, “Just give me the good stuff now.”

She feels him bend to place a chaste kiss on her back before saying, “Yes, ma’am.”

With that out of the way, things can get _really_ interesting, she makes it her priority to really ramp up the sexiness.

Liam applies pressure and runs his hands up her back, up to her neck, moving his fingers under the pearls and she feels him hesitate for a moment as he gazes at them. She knows exactly what he’s thinking about.

“Do I feel tight?” She asks in a whisper.

“Hm?” He snaps his attention back to her, moving his fingers again, this time in circular motions, “Uh, yeah you’re holding a lot of tension in your neck.”

She hums, “That feels really good.”

He continues across her shoulders before moving slowly down her back, running a line down her spine, making her moan out in pleasure.

Her acute ears catch onto his breath hitching in his throat, his hands now at the bottom of her back, dangerously close to her ass which she decides to tempt him with as she sways her hips a little, knowing he won’t go any further without her permission, “Go ahead, Liam.”

He massages over her glutes, clearly attempting to not sexualise the movements, which is the opposite of what Fallon wants right now. No, she _wants_ Liam to be rock hard and pining for her. Considering every massage they’ve ever exchanged has ended in sex he must be using a _lot_ of restraint right now.

“Honey, I feel like I’m getting a massage from an old lady, touch me like you always do.”

Apparently, that’s all it takes for him to snap, to go back to the sensual touches that she’s used to as he dips his hand between her inner thighs, running them up dangerously close to her center.

“Don’t be mean,” She warns.

“I told you, Fallon. I’ll touch you anywhere you want.” He says as he continues, this time moving even closer, causing her breath to hitch in her throat, “You only need to ask.” 

It would be so easy for her to give in right now; it almost feels like every fibre of her being is screaming at her to just say yes, to let him do what he usually does at this point of giving her a massage, tease her clit, push his fingers into her until she’s a writhing mess and begs for him to take her, but she _can’t_. If she lets him do that she knows she’ll struggle to stop, will possibly even give in and surrender and tonight was all about evening the score with Liam.

“Keep dreaming, buddy.” She returns sarcastically.

“Oh trust me, I will.”

He moves further still, taking her hint and has to crawl down the bed as he works at her tired and sore feet, one by one.

“God, yes.” She groans out as he hits a particular nerve, “You treat me so well.” She opens her eyes and smiles down, catching him pressing his hips against the mattress, clearly needing to feel relief.

Fallon bites her lip, restraining from smiling in victory as she pulls her foot out of his hand, “Do my front now,” She says and turns her body with ease, now lying on her back. Liam’s eyes look pitch black, completely full of desire and she takes her chance now, “But just before I do that, how about I give _you_ a little massage?”

She places her foot directly against his crotch, causing him to groan out as she applies pressure and clenches her toes over his hardened member. His head falls forward for a moment, a whine catching in his throat, allowing himself to feel the sensations before he snaps, grabbing her ankle, looking her dead in the eye, “Fallon, stop.”

Innocently, she pouts, “My apologies, Mr Ridley. He just looked like he wanted some action too.”

“What he _wants_ he can’t _have._ ” He says with a sigh, letting go of her ankle.

“Oh, but he _can._ ” She returns, drawing out the words seductively, “Speaking of things that want a little action…”

His eyes follow her hands as she brings them up her stomach, her fingers splayed, and slowly runs them across her skin and up to cup her breasts, giving them a squeeze, teasing her hardened nipples with her index fingers.

The way that he looks at her shows her that he’s contemplating those actions like he’s calculating the likely outcome of who would be more turned on, who would be more likely to give in if he takes over for her. Apparently, he decides it’s Fallon when he makes a move to inch back up the bed. However, Fallon halts his plans to straddle her legs, which would mean they’d be trapped underneath him, and instead opens them wide, indicating that the only way he’s going to reach her breasts is if he settles between her knees. He keeps his eyes fixed on hers, his jaw clenching at her power move. It takes a few seconds of them staring each other down before he still decides to move forwards, climbing over her, his knees pressing against her ass cheeks.

Her feet settle against the bed as she smirks up at him and arches her back, pushing her chest towards him.

“You want me to take over?” He asks, his voice sounding as wrecked as it had in the video he’d sent her earlier.

“Yes, I do.” She remarks back.

“Then put your hands above your head,” He demands.

They’re right in the middle of a power play right now and Fallon _loves_ it. In fact, Fallon _anticipated_ it, which is exactly why she happily places her hands above her head, her left hand holding onto her right wrist and simply lies there exposed for Liam to touch at his free will.

He cups her breasts once he’s satisfied she isn’t going to try to use her own hands to touch him, massaging his thumbs over her nipples, sending shivers of pleasures down her spine. He alternates between rubbing circles over her nipples and using his fingers to gently massage over her.

“Mm, oh my god, Liam,” She exaggerates the moan, but it clearly works to really turn him on because he presses himself against her core and she can feel his hardened member against her clit. Subtly, she begins to move her hips in an effort to create some friction between them, relishing in the pleasure building at her centre with every small stroke his boxer shorts makes against her bundle of nerves.

He continues to his feel at her breasts, her back arching up into him more and more, silently asking for _something._ He figures it out quickly when he bends over to take her left nipple into his mouth, running his tongue over it, causing her to moan out loud. All the while their hips continue to move, her soaking core wetting his boxers, mixing with his own precum and she hates to admit it but she starts to feel a tingling of the start of an orgasm.

She isn’t sure what to focus on when he swills his tongue over her nipple, and then as he pulls back, blows over the now wet nub, the cool sensation surprising her, making her harden all the more.

“ _Liam…”_ She throws one of her legs around his waist, causing him to detach his lips from her and looks her in the eyes. The brunette stares back with an equal amount of fervour, needing to end this, now. “Look at us, I know you need me. I’m all yours honey, take me. Just _one_ little move, two little words, that’s it and we can end this silly little game.”

“Fallon…”

“I’m so wet for you, Liam. I’m just lying here waiting for you, _ready_ for you,” She releases her wrist to bring a hand up to cup his cheek, “Come on, I know how much you want this.”

His jaw clenches as he gulps in a breath, clearly attempting to keep a clear head when he responds, “Well Fallon, if you’re so wet then why don’t _you_ say the words?”

A smirk forms on her face, “Because, Liam, I’m not the one who is throbbing in his boxers right now. I’m not the one who has been hard all day long. I caught you pressing yourself against the bed earlier, and now _this._ ” She lifts her hips for emphasis, causing him to groan out at the sensation of her wet core moving against his leaking tip. “You have to admit, you need me more than I need you right now.”

“You’re awfully certain of that,” He says, an eyebrow raised.

“Well, this is your last chance.” She leans in close to him, kisses his jaw and whispers in his ear, “Say you surrender to me, Liam.”

For a _second_ she genuinely thinks he’s going to do it when she hears him take a sharp intake of breath, but then he pulls away instead, almost violently, rolling to the side and falls against the mattress on his back, breathing hard.

She sits up with a sigh, “I’ll take that as a no then.”

He doesn’t even respond, opting instead to stare at the ceiling and tries to level his breathing.

“Well, I better go wash all of this oil off of my body.”

She knows he watches her as she hops off of the bed, and she makes sure to sway her hips as she walks over to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

~

So that hadn’t gone exactly to plan, but she does have one more card up her sleeve. She busies herself with showering the oil off of her body, using the shower gel she knows Liam _loves,_ denying the pulsating feeling between her legs, attempting to simply ignore it until it goes away.

Once she dries off and releases her locks so that they cascade down her back, she spritzes on a small amount of her perfume and takes a look in the mirror. Satisfied with her appearance and with her head held high, she walks out with the towel still wrapped around her body and waltzes up to the bed, now re-made with the sheets with Liam leaning up against the headboard reading the book from his nightstand. To his credit, he’s looking much more put together and in control than he was 15 minutes ago.

She throws him a smile before dropping the towel from her naked body, discarding it on the floor and crawls onto the bed. His eyes are wide as he watches her, incredulous that she isn’t wearing any nightwear.

With exaggerated movements, she stretches out on the bed, yawning as she does it.

“Aren’t you going to put something on?” He asks.

“Nope.” She responds, simply. “Gosh, I’m _so_ tired, are you going to read for a little bit?”

“Yeah, probably.” He responds, attempting to sound as casual as she was.

“Okay,” She says and rolls over to him, pressing her breasts against his chest and captures his lips, cupping his face with her hand, pressing against his mouth. He’s hesitant, understandably so, but she continues nonetheless until she finally feels him give in and matches her rhythm. She feels his fingers tangle in her hair, playing with the strands, causing a pleasant tingling sensation at her scalp. As she moans at the feeling, he dips his tongue into her mouth, relighting that flame, the desire burning within them once again. The kiss becomes desperate, passionate, until she pulls back prematurely, watching him chase her lips.

“Goodnight.” She whispers, her breath tickling his lips before rolling away, finding a comfortable position.

She figures that if he wants more, he can continue to chase her.

“Are you seriously going to sleep on top of the bedsheets?” He asks her once he’s recovered from the kiss.

“Yeah, I’m warm.” She replies and strokes her leg against his seductively, “Besides, if I get cold in the night I’m sure you won’t mind sharing your body heat.”

He shakes his head at her and brings the book back up to his face, “Goodnight, Fal.”

Admittedly, she was feeling sleepy from the massage, her muscles now feeling pleasantly relaxed, clearly releasing some kind of serotonin which stops her from feeling too disappointed that her ultimate plan to get naked, accept a massage and seduce Liam hadn’t quite worked in the exact way she had planned. However, she can feel him staring, his breath having picked up the pace again, and as she drifts off to sleep she can only hope that Liam doesn’t last the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will see the return of something very iconic to Fallon and Liam's love story.


	5. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Fallon and Liam's date night, and Liam has a proposition for Fallon that she's sure will allow her to win the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other but they have to stop before the other one gets close to orgasm  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction). 
> 
> (Authors note: Sorry this took so long, my job is really demanding but I appreciate all the lovely comments I have received! It keeps me motivated to continue!)

Liam does, much to Fallon’s disappointment, manage to last the whole night without waking her and giving in. However, it was apparently not without difficulty, as she discovers once she finally wakes and is met with his frustration.

Her sleep had been heavy and dreamless, clearly so exhausted that she slept the whole way through the night, pretty much dead to the world. As she slowly wakes and attempts to take in her surroundings, the first thing she notices is that she is comfortably wrapped around a warm body, velvet skin on skin, her whole form rising and falling slowly as the man beneath her breaths in and out. It’s no surprise that she had managed to sleep so well with the calming, almost rocking motion, and for a moment she contemplates allowing herself to fall back into oblivion until her mind cruelly reminds her that it’s a weekday and she, unfortunately, cannot spend the whole morning napping in the arms of her fiancé. No matter how much she wants to.

“Oh, good morning sleeping beauty,” Liam mutters, his voice toneless as she begins to stir.

“Hm, morning,” She mumbles back, her mind still sluggish from sleep and nestles closer to Liam, her eyes remaining closed, “What time is it?”

“Seven-thirty.” He answers back, his tone still sharp and to the point.

She groans. That confirms that she definitely doesn’t have time to sleep in with meetings scheduled early in the day. Practically forcing herself to give up all hope of remaining in her comfortable state, she blinks her eyes open, compelling them to focus. All it takes is lifting her chin a little and flicking her gaze up to take in the vision of her fiancé, his head resting against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. His jaw is uncharacteristically clenched, unusually unwilling to meet her stare, and her head tilts subtly to the side in confusion, instantly realising that something was _off._ Lifting her head from his chest to get a better look, her eyes trace his features carefully to try to better make sense of his lack of emotion towards her and that’s when she recognises the darkness under his eyes, his hair more kempt than is usually is, his whole demeanour giving off signs that he’s stressed about something and likely hasn’t slept as a result.

“Liam, what’s wrong?” The concern in her voice chips through his icy exterior, causing him to breathe out a soft sigh and eventually meets her gaze, their eyes locking, and she can _see_ the frustration reflected in them, “You look exhausted, did you not sleep at all?”

He’s looking at her like she should know what’s wrong, which only muddles her mind more because unless something happened in the night that she doesn’t know about, the reason for his current demeanour is a complete mystery to her.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don’t remember anything at all from last night and that you were honestly asleep the _whole_ time,” He says, only furthering her confusion. Had she said something to upset him in her sleep?

“I was, I swear to you. The last thing I remember before falling to sleep was that you were reading your book, what happened last night?” Her heart picks up its pace, worried that she _has_ offended Liam in some way and simply cannot remember how.

But then Liam’s expression softens a smidgeon, indicating he believes her, and she catches the corner of his mouth twitch like he is on the cusp of smiling. It relaxes her slightly, but she is still completely in the dark about why he is so stressed and tired.

“Don’t you think that the position you’ve woken up in this morning is a little precarious bearing in mind you’re _completely_ naked?”

 _Oh,_ she sees the issue now.

It comes flooding back to her that she had rather shrewdly attempted to seduce Liam last night by sleeping in the nude, on top of the covers, and despite beginning the night on her own side of the bed, she had somehow ended up pressed against Liam’s side with her legs tangled with his, her head on his chest and an arm slung over him. She supposes that for someone who was trying to win a no-sex challenge and had spent the majority of the day preceding that with a hard-on, that may have made things rather difficult. It makes sense now as to why Liam struggled to sleep.

“Well, you could have just rolled me away.” She replies, offering him a simple solution to the issue.

“Oh, I tried that.” He bites back, “Several times. You just kept coming back and each time you got _closer._ Eventually, I just gave up because you were clearly cold, even though I put a blanket over you which you threw on the floor.”

It takes every inch of restraint she has in her body to not burst out laughing as she visualises all of that in her mind's eye. None of them should be surprised, after all, Fallon was a very determined person, when she wants something she doesn’t give up easily and apparently, that is still true even when she is unconscious.

Plus, she realises that this is _perfect_ because even though Liam hadn’t acted on his obvious desire, he’d at least suffered for a good few hours, which potentially has knocked some of that confidence about his own self-restraint out of him. Fallon was happy to wait this out, it was only Wednesday after all, she has until Saturday to win this game. There was still plenty of time left.

This gives her a clear opportunity to act innocent and to continue her plan.

“So you’re telling me that you don’t want to cuddle with me?” She pouts, throwing him a sad look with her cerulean eyes.

“Sweetheart, when his very attractive, very _naked_ fiancé decides to press her boobs against you all night, it does things to a man. That man then has to spend the whole night doing whatever he can to not get turned on, and let’s just say I now truly understand why people say the internet is a scary place, I’m possibly scarred for life, I think you should consider it a compliment.”

She rolls her eyes, assuming that he’s completely over exaggerating.

“And yet, your solution was _so_ simple,” She offers, “All you had to do was wake me, tell me that you surrender and I would have happily let you have your merry little way with me _all night long_. It’s not my fault you decided to take the hard route.”

He huffs out a laugh, unconvinced. “Fallon, even if I had wanted to do that, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to wake you anyway. It was like you were in a coma. I still have the drool on my chest to prove it.”

She sneers, her eyes narrowing at him, “Oh please, you’ve had my saliva in plenty of places, don’t pretend that it bothers you.”

“Oh I’m not saying it bothers me at all, I’m just saying that _nothing_ would have convinced you to wake up to have sex.”

That gives her a boost of confidence because she is a thousand percent sure that the only reason her body is wrapped around Liam’s right now is _because_ she feels eternally horny and like a shark smelling blood, she would _definitely_ have woken up if there was the promise of 1. Winning the competition and 2. _Finally_ having a much-needed orgasm. Liam doesn’t need to know that though.

“Oh please,” She throws back, “You’re always so dramatic. Besides, what did you even do to keep yourself from getting all hot and bothered whilst I was in this so-called coma?”

“Did you know that Facebook created two AI’s to talk to each other but they had to shut them down after they started to communicate using a language that they’d invented for themselves?” He asks.

She furrows her brows in response, shaking her head at his random enquiry, “No, I didn’t know that. Why would I know that? Why do _you_ know that?”

“Oh, because it was number 54 on the ‘101 Facts That Will Kill Your Boner’ list on BuzzFeed that I read last night.”

“Ha.” She responds, deadpan, “When I think about it though, that’s actually a little bit scary.”

Liam’s eyes widen, “Right?!”

She lets out a giggle at his reaction, shaking her head slightly, “Okay, well I highly suggest you spend a few hours of the day sleeping and _not_ freaking out over robots potentially taking over the world.”

Liam hums in response, his expression warmer now, “I’m glad my struggles amuse you.”

She throws him a smile back, a mischievous look in her eyes as she begins to stroke her fingers up his chest, a light touch, leaving goosebumps in her wake.

“Well, you don’t have to struggle any more if you don’t want to. After all, now that I’m awake, why don’t you take me up on my offer?”

He gives her a look that tells her that he wants nothing more than to do exactly that. Unfortunately, the words that come out of his mouth do not reflect that, “Don’t you have to get ready for work?”

“I’ve always got time for you, honey.” She replies in a sultry voice, before ducking her head and licking over a nipple on his bare chest, marvelling in watching how his body reacts against his will, his breath hitching in his throat, the nipple hardening against her tongue. 

“Hm. Nice try,” He mumbles, “Go, I’ll fetch us some breakfast.”

She sighs, conceding, and begins to crawl off of him before he grabs her hips, “Oh, but not before I do _this._ ”

Taking her by surprise, he flips them so that she is pinned to the bed, his weight on top of her, gazing at each other with an intense stare and before she knows it, his mouth is on hers, their lips moving together determinedly.

She completely melts, allowing him to the take lead, moaning against his mouth as she marvels at his skilful technique. A hand roams to her hair, stroking the locks gently, causing a pleasant tingle at her scalp whilst her own hands grasp at his shoulders before moving to cup his face, silently asking him to deepen the kiss. He obliges, sucking on her bottom lip, giving it a light nip as his fingers depart from her hair and wander down to cup her breast, his thumb rubbing over her exposed nipple. She gasps at the sensation, her mouth opening, and Liam takes the opportunity to dip his tongue inside, tangling with hers as he continues to ravish her in every way he possibly can.

Fallon _loves_ this, she always does, and she can’t stop the blood rushing south, her hips rising, needing to feel some kind of friction against her naked core. So of course, just as things are getting heated, that’s when Liam pulls away from her mouth and smirks down at her, “Want me to carry on?”

“Obviously.” She says, forcefully pulling him back to her with her hand on the back of his neck, crashing their mouths back together.

He smiles against her lips, only entertaining the kiss for a moment before breaking away again, causing Fallon to sigh out in frustration, lifting her head to chase him.

“Say the words,” Liam whispers to her, his voice low.

“Ugh.” Fallon falls back unceremoniously onto the pillows, her expression suddenly stoic, her mood shifting instantly, “I should have known you were going to say that.”

Liam lets out a breathy chuckle, “Can’t blame a man for trying.” 

She shakes her head at him before playfully pressing hard on his chest, “Go get my bacon.”

That only makes him laugh more as he begins to move away, “Yes, ma’am.”

She stays on the bed until Liam has thrown on some clothes and leaves the room, willing her heart rate to decrease, being thankful that she has yet another day at the office where she can throw herself into work to distract herself from her currently very active sex drive. It’s highly likely that Liam will try everything he can to pay her back for the torture she put him through yesterday so she will have to stay alert to his little tricks throughout the day.

As she eventually climbs off the bed and makes a start towards the bathroom, a harrowing thought hits her; tonight is their date night, and it was Liam’s turn to plan the evening. She stops dead in the middle of the room, realising that meant Liam potentially had the upper hand because she has _no_ idea what he is planning, but she knows one thing for sure, that if she has any chance of making Liam surrender tonight, then whatever it is, she’s going to need to look irresistibly sexy.

~

Fallon ends up spending _way_ too much time in her day preparing for this evening. All she had managed to get out of Liam from this morning was that they were going out to dinner but he didn’t specify a place, or time, or anything of significant importance. But, she at least figures it’s enough information for her to plan an outfit which will have him pining for her all night long. She’s surprised, actually, that he would choose such a romantic evening, candlelight and wine, gazing into each other’s eyes all night, flirty glances, suggestive conversations, it was practically foreplay for them. Unless Liam had a plan himself, which was entirely possible.

She just has to hope that she can render his brain speechless with her appearance and whatever plans he may have will be lost to him. Hopefully, her preparation would be enough, getting a fresh manicure and skipping a few meetings to buy a new dress, deciding that there was nothing in her wardrobe which would quite fit the bill. The second she’d entered her favorite store a silky red number had immediately called out to her, backless and long but with a slit going all the way up the thigh. Matched with a pair of strappy heels and the finishing touch of some new lacey underwear, she figures there’s at least a decent chance of her getting laid tonight _and_ retaining her pride at the same time.

As soon as she can leave the office she rushes home to get started on getting ready for the night. Liam is strangely nowhere to be found, but that means she can focus solely on working on getting her smoky-eyed make-up perfect and pinning her hair up into a loose bun, a few of the locks framing her face still falling down over her shoulders. She spritzes on plenty of her perfume, Liam’s favorite, of course, and chooses a deep red lipstick to match her dress. She’s just securing a dainty diamond bracelet around her wrist when she hears the doors to their bedroom open and close.

“Fallon?”

“Oh hey honey, I’m just in here,” She calls out to him from the walk-in closet.

“You almost ready to go, babe?”

“Yeah,” She takes the opportunity to show herself in nothing but her red lacey thong as she makes her way into the bedroom, a self-assured smirk on her face, feeling confident that she was completely prepared for this evening, “I just need you to help me with my dress, _oh my god._ ”

It hits her instantly that what Fallon really hadn’t prepared for, was _Liam._ Her eyes widen instantly, taking in his form, dressed in a light grey, subtly striped, well-tailored suit with a black shirt underneath, a few of the top buttons undone giving off a slightly dishevelled look. Of course, the arrogant smile he’s giving her right now in response to her unexpected reaction to seeing him look so suave doesn’t help matters.

They’re at a crossroads, and Fallon realises as he gazes at her predatorily that there’s no way she can pretend that never happened, so she’s simply going to have to own it in the best way she can.

“New suit?” She asks as she saunters towards him, crowding his space, wrapping her fingers around the lapels of his jacket as she breathes in his cologne which makes her almost dizzy with want, “It looks good on you.”

She has a sneaky suspicion that Liam has been in the manor all along but was getting help to dress for the evening from her traitor of a best friend. Yes, this outfit has Sam Jones written _all over it._

Liam looks uneasy about her proximity, his confidence faltering as she presses her almost naked body against his, “Thanks,” He replies, gulping slightly, his cocky expression completely wiped from his face, “Uh, you wanted help with your dress?”

She hums in response, throwing him a smile as she takes his hand and leads him into the closet so that she can step into the dress, keeping it held up at her breasts as she instructs him in how to tie the strings at her lower back. It takes every ounce of resilience she has to not react to the feeling of Liam’s fingers grazing her exposed skin.

Once he’s finished she wastes no time in twirling around for him to see the way the dress sits perfectly on her hips, a generous amount of cleavage on show, the slit up the side of the leg showing off her thigh which he can’t seem to stop staring at.

“Holy fuck.” He breathes out, and Fallon feels like a meal placed in front of a starving man with the way Liam is appreciating her.

Throwing him a smirk, but otherwise acting nonchalant, she sits to tie on her strappy heels, grabbing her purse once she is finished and pauses at the threshold, “You ready?”

It seems to finally pull him out of his trance, his head snapping up to meet her eyes, “Yeah,” He offers her a smile before he joins her, taking her hand in his, “Let’s go.”

As they make their way through the manor towards the waiting car, all Fallon can think about is how yes, she _may_ have slipped slightly when she saw how Liam is dressed tonight, but Liam has shown equal interest in her – so, they were at least even. At the moment, anyway.

~

They arrive at a high rise building in the middle of the city, the sun having _just_ set, casting a pretty amalgamation of pink hues across the sky which were quickly fading into darkness. Fallon has _no_ idea why they’re here, assuming it’s just a block of apartments, but Liam insists it’s the right place as he steps out of the car and holds out his hand for her to take, pulling her out and onto the street. It’s only then that she notices a sign on the building, indicating that there was a rooftop restaurant.

“Oh,” she says, drawing out the sound in realisation.

Liam shrugs, “It’s a new place, I figured we could try it out.”

A warm breeze floats past them, a reminder of the intense summer heat she has been escaping by insisting on only frequenting air-conditioned spaces, but a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city? Dining underneath the stars? Sounds almost too good to be true.

Fallon offers Liam a soft smile as she interlaces her fingers with his, “Sounds perfect.”

He smiles back, warm and genuine, almost like he’s surprised by her reaction, “Yeah?”

She nods, “Yeah.”

Liam leads them into the foyer, approaching the greeter who welcomes them into the space, “Good evening, do you have a reservation?”

“Yeah, Ridley,” Liam responds.

They pause for a moment as he checks the clipboard in his hands, his eyes scanning before falling on the name, “Fantastic,” He looks up at them both, “If you could just take the elevator to the right all the way up to the top floor and a waiter will be there to take you to your seats.”

“Great, thanks,” Liam replies.

“Have a good evening,” The greeter returns as the couple make their way over to the elevator, stepping inside once the doors open and Liam presses the button for the top floor, prompting the doors to close on them and the elevator to slowly kick into life.

With little else to do, Fallon’s attention is solely on Liam. She had, admittedly, been admiring her fiancé for much of the car journey over here, but with the driver in the front seat she had left it only at that – a few wanting glances. Now, however, it’s painfully obvious that they are alone, in a confined space and the tension in the air feels almost tangible.

She bites at her bottom lip, attempting to control her thoughts as she looks him up and down, and she realises instantly that his outfit reminds her of the one he wore the night he’d got his memories back, the night he’d showed up at her magazine’s launch and gave a romantic speech about how much he loved her. The night she’d ran into his arms and never looked back, the night she’d taken him home as quickly as she could because it had been _far_ too long since they’d last tangled their bodies together and had made love. The black shirt he’s wearing is possibly the same one she had practically torn off of him that night, recalling their need to be properly reunited propelling their every desperate move. And desperate it was, frantic fingers exploring their exposed skin, lips sucking bruises into places only they were allowed to see, and as he’d slid into her it had felt like he was coming home, like the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle being placed into the correct spot. A forever jigsaw that they never intended to break apart, ever again.

Yet, that same feeling of unadulterated want was yet again in her veins, having slowly been building since Sunday, at times feeling suffocating, burning, even. Like Liam was the water that could douse the flames, but she knows she can’t go _there_ and that she needs to work harder on coercing Liam to be the one to give in to her.

“Fallon, stop biting your lip, you know what it does to me.”

Liam’s low voice breaks her out of her trance, snapping her attention back to the present as her eyes meet his, rather than focusing on his chest where the top few buttons of his shirt are unopened.

She raises a challenging eyebrow, recognising the daring look on his face, the one that says he is being deadly serious.

All Fallon can think is that it means Liam’s just as on the edge as she is, and if she plays her cards right here, she might just be able to break him.

“Make me.” She responds, the invitation hanging heavy in the air between them as Liam calculates his next moves, his eyes narrowing in on her slightly, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

“Alright,” He responds and begins to crowd her, pushing her up against the wall of the elevator and simultaneously slams the emergency stop button on the control dial, bringing the elevator to a screeching halt. Fallon’s eyes widen, her heart rate accelerating, more in excitement than anything else.

“What are you doing?” She asks, her gaze occasionally involuntarily flicking down to his lips.

“You said ‘make me’,” His hands land either side of her head, resting on the metal frame of the elevator, “I figured I can put your lips to better use, no?”

She blinks a few times in disbelief, her thoughts suddenly frantic with the possibility that he means he’s about to say _those words._

His action only seems to confirm that as one of his hands comes down, his fingers settling on her neck, an incredibly intimate move that makes her breath hitch in her throat. He slowly traces his thumb across her bottom lip, applying pressure to part them as they share a heated glance, causing a warmth to flush across her skin.

His proximity right now is making her head swim, desire flooding through her veins, and she realises in that moment that she will be more than happy to drop to her knees right now and ‘put her lips to better use’ as he so described it.

To prove that to him, Fallon purses her lips, attempts to take his thumb into her mouth and swill her tongue around it to demonstrate what she’d like to do to him right now, but Liam pulls it away instead, teasing her.

“I just meant a kiss,” He explains, his voice hushed, like he’d read her thoughts and needed to correct her.

“Oh, you had me all excited then,” She pouts up at him, disappointed, “So you stopped an elevator just to kiss me?”

Liam huffs out of a whisper of a laugh, “Yes, I did, I guess I better make it a good one.” 

Before she knows it, Liam’s body is pressed closely against hers, the cold metal of the elevator against her bare back and he gives her a few seconds of chance to deny him before he crashes his lips to hers. Immediately, Fallon _feels_ it in her – that burning desire roaring to life, her fiancé’s touch both soothing and feeding it all at once. The kiss is synonymously hungry, Fallon isn’t sure what to do with her hands as they travel up his neck, cup his face, run through his hair, her fingers grasping at him, needing him closer. Automatically, her body arches into his, allowing Liam to slip his hands around her, wandering down her back, settling over her ass cheeks, giving them a gentle squeeze, causing her to moan into his mouth.

Hurriedly, her lips detach from his to pepper kisses along his neck, the sound of them both panting filling the small space before Liam whispers into her ear, “I have a proposition for you.”

“And what’s that?” She responds before biting down on a spot she knows drives Liam mad, strategically sucking on the skin, running her tongue over it to soothe the ache she knows she’s causing with the sound of Liam’s breath hitching in his throat.

It isn’t _often_ she does this – but there’s something in her, seemingly primal, that’s insisting that she needs to ensure any potential single women up on that rooftop knows that Liam is taken, is hers and hers only. She takes him exposing his neck to her as further permission to continue.

“I’ll surrender to you tonight,” He manages to get out, his voice sounding wrecked, and that catches her attention immediately, her head whipping up to look him in the eyes, “ _if_ , you can go the whole night without biting your lip.”

Her jaw drops in surprise.

“Are you being serious?”

Liam’s expression doesn’t falter as he responds, his tone low and gravelly, “Deadly.”

A smirk slowly forms on her face as she takes it in because unless there’s a catch, that means that she’s won.

“Let me guess, if I do, then _I_ have to be the one to surrender to you?” She asks.

“No, but there will be a consequence.”

She raises an eyebrow in question, “Can I know what the consequences of my actions will be before I agree to this deal?”

Liam glares at her before responding in a casual manner, “You have to give me your underwear.”

She blinks at him, “That’s it?”

He nods, “That’s it.”

She probably would have taken the deal had it been the case that she would have to surrender if she failed, because how hard would it be to not bite her lip? This wasn’t even a challenge anymore.

“Done.”

“You think it’s going to be easy, don’t you?” Liam says, smiling around the words.

“Of course I do,” She responds, her gaze predatory, “As long as you let me continue to bite on your neck. You _did_ say to put my mouth to good use.”

Liam grins, “I’ll give you one more minute.” 

She wastes no time in tilting her head to the side so that she can continue her assault on the already purpling bruise on his skin, returning to her previous actions as she celebrates her victory, it’s a little early but she’s confident that tonight is the night this whole thing ends, finally.

Liam lets out a low groan as she scrapes her teeth over the area again and he grabs her thigh, her leg emerging from the slit in her dress to wrap around his hip as his hand explores, moving up, teasingly close to her core. Her fingers grip onto his shoulder, anticipating Liam pressing against her highly sensitive bundle of nerves, craving the feeling of it. His fingers pinch at her inner thigh slightly before inching closer, and closer, _finally_ brushing over the lace of her panties-

“Hey, are you guys okay in there?”

They both startle at the disembodied voice coming out from the speaker near the control panel to their side, both of them jolting back to reality, their heads turning towards the sound.

Liam looks the most alarmed, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment as he leans to the side to press down on the respond button.

“Uh, yeah, I’m so sorry,” Liam speaks, trying to disguise his breathlessness, “We accidentally pressed the emergency stop button.”

Fallon has to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from noticeably laughing out loud at the fact they’d both gotten so lost in the moment that they had completely forgotten where they were and what they were doing.

“Oh, that’s no problem.” The voice speaks, “Just re-press the button for the top floor and the elevator will resume.”

“Great, thanks.”

Liam does just that, and as who she assumes was someone from the security team in the building had suggested, the elevator begins to move upwards again.

“You don’t think there are cameras in here, do you?” Fallon whispers, attempting to make herself look a little more put together, and a little less like she’d just had an impromptu make-out session in the elevator with her lover.

Liam grimaces, staying still, like he doesn’t dare look around just in case there actually are cameras in here, “It’s possible.”

“Damn. Well, if there is, I’m sure we gave them a good show,” She says, making Liam bark out a laugh.

“That’s one way of looking at it.”

They glance at the number indicating which floor they’re on, seeing that they’re almost at the top now and still not entirely prepared to be seen in public, especially considering Liam has lipstick smudged all over him. Fallon quickly tries to wipe it off with her thumb, turning it into a faint pink, unable to completely erase it, but in all honesty, she prefers that she can still see the faint outline of it on his neck.

He combs his fingers through his hair a few times to tame it, just in time for the elevator to halt and the doors to open, revealing the atmospherically lit restaurant.

It takes her breath away a little as they step out and she takes it all in, the low hanging lights, the sound of pretty piano music, the delicious smell of food filling her senses, making her mouth water. It _does_ seem perfect, and plus, with the promise of sex tonight, as they _always_ have on their date night, this can at least be a truly romantic and enjoyable evening that they can share together. She knows Liam will make some attempt somewhere to trip her up, like for example how his hand is currently settled on the small of her back where her skin is exposed, the touch sending shivers up her spine, but as long as she stays aware of herself, everything should go exactly according to plan.

~

“You really think it’s one of your lawyers who leaked the news about your contract deal?” Liam asks, taking a sip of wine.

“It _has_ to be,” Fallon responds, a lingering feeling of deceit clawing at her thoughts – she hates that someone in her own company would do this to her, and for what? Money? She already pays her staff higher than any other media company in the area so instead, it actually feels somewhat personal. 

“Well, you know what you have to do, right?” Her fiancé recaptures her attention from her spiralling thoughts, reminding her that she can solve this issue, she is still the one in control, she just needs to discover who the perpetrator is and then she can enact her plan of revenge.

“Of course.” She shrugs, “I’ll speak to each one of them individually and threaten to destroy there’s and their families lives if they don’t come clean about whether they did or did not leak the contract deal. It’s simple really.”

“Or,” Liam says, drawing out the vowel for emphasis, “I was thinking something a little more covert and you know, less likely to wind you up in a jail cell for trying to intimidate a bunch of lawyers.”

She’d be insulted if she didn’t know that he was technically right.

“All right,” She responds, an eyebrow raised high, curious to hear Liam’s idea, “I’m listening.”

“Well, if I were you, I’d tell each one of them that you’re working on a secret deal and that they’re to tell no one, and that they need to write up a contract. Say that there’s one anonymous rival that you know only by phone number, which simply can just be a burner phone, and that they need to watch out for anyone with that number calling and making enquiries. Give each of them a different figure that the contract is worth, and if any of them call with the information you’ll know exactly who your rat is.”

_Damn._

She gives it a second to mull over Liam’s proposal, attempting to play out the situation in her mind, looking for faults in the plan. When there’s nothing glaringly obvious, she throws him a smirk, genuinely impressed by his intellect.

“You’re a lot more than just a pretty face aren’t you, Mr Ridley?”

Liam breathes out a laugh, his cheeks noticeably blushing and he looks away from her for a moment, almost like he’s embarrassed; Fallon finds it incredibly endearing.

Eventually, his eyes meet hers again, blue meeting blue, and he offers her a smile before responding, “Well I try to have at least a semi-decent body too.”

Fallon shakes her head playfully, “Oh stop being so modest, you know you’re gorgeous.”

“Not like you,” He replies, his gaze intense, so much so that it gives her goosebumps and steals her breath a little.

But the moment is shattered as they’re interrupted by a waitress wordlessly approaching the table and setting a dirty martini in front of Fallon.

“What’s this?” Fallon asks, confusion written on her face, knowing she hadn’t ordered the drink any point.

“The gentleman at the bar bought it for you and asked me to bring it over.” The waitress responds, looking uncomfortable, and disappears in a rush before Fallon can say anything else, like give her the drink back and tell her to tell the ‘gentleman at the bar’ to get lost.

The couple's heads turn towards the man, clothed in a dark suit, his back turned to them, slim, his back hunched over the counter with what looks like a scotch in his hand.

“Do you know him?” Liam asks, clearly not recognising the man himself.

“Never seen him before in my life,” She sighs, pushing the drink away, “Probably just some creep.”

Liam hums in agreement, returning back to her attention, neither of them giving the man a second glance, “Did you notice him looking at you?”

She tilts her head to the side, offering him a smile as she reaches her hand over the table to rest on his, her eyes narrowing in on the purpling bruise that’s clearly visible just above his shirt collar, “No, I’ve had my eyes on something else all night.”

Liam throws her a smile, an almost bashful expression on his face as he diverts the conversation, “You want any dessert?”

“Actually, I was thinking that _you_ would be dessert.”

He raises an eyebrow, a smirk forming on his face, considering she has managed to go the whole night without once biting her lip, it’s practically promised now that she can indeed have her dessert – to go. Sooner, rather than later, preferably.

“I’ll get the bill.” Liam declares hurriedly, causing Fallon to giggle. They simultaneously look around the restaurant to find a waiter, but instead, they’re met with a different situation entirely.

“What’s wrong darling?” The man from the bar interrupts them, now standing directly by their table, his attention on Fallon, “You look like a dirty martini girl to me, but did I read you all wrong? Perhaps you’d prefer a glass of champagne?”

“Excuse me?” Fallon asks, clearly offended that he’s had the nerve to walk over here and speak to her.

“Are you being serious?” Liam asks the stranger, his voice clipped and demanding, his jaw clenched; Fallon can tell that he’s pissed, and rightly so. The man glances his way, but remains flippant in his attitude, “First of all, you buy her a drink and now you have the audacity to actually come over here when you can clearly see that she’s with someone, you are really pushing your luck, man.”

The stranger shrugs, “I think you’re giving off ‘Bad First Date’ vibes,” He looks back over at Fallon, and the smarmy look on his face actually makes her stomach churn. Her fingers subconsciously wrap around the martini glass, intent on soaking the man with it and causing a scene, which is a shame, because this is a nice place and she would actually like to return, “I’m just trying to save you, darling.”

_Oh, that’s it._

“You know what I think?” Liam’s voice cuts through her anger, and she halts for a moment, waiting to hear what he has to say, realising that he’s probably trying to control the situation from blowing up and having them end up on every gossip site in Atlanta, and considering she is trying to improve her reputation for Fallon Unlimited’s expansion, he’s doing her a favor, “I think you need to take that Martini and shove it up your ass.”

“Why don’t you let the lady speak for herself?” The man quips back and begins to look Fallon’s way, but Liam’s quick to respond, keeping his attention.

“Walk away, man. Trust me. I’m not the person sat at this table that you should be afraid of.” The man glances at Fallon who offers him a challenging smirk. “Regardless,” Liam continues before Fallon has the chance to demonstrate exactly that, “That won’t stop me from punching you square in the jaw for hitting on my fiancé, so I suggest you get out of my face _right now_.”

The man looks Liam up and down, disbelief clearly written on his features, “You look like you wouldn’t be able to hurt a fly.”

Liam shakes his head, breathing out a humourless laugh before standing abruptly, squaring up to the man intimidatingly, “You have _no_ idea what I’m capable of.” 

The scene in front of her reminds her of that damn La Perla party all those years ago when Liam had taken the same protective stance towards Jeff as he is now to this rude stranger. The effect it has on her is the same too – because it’s undeniably _hot._

The stranger is slightly shorter, thinner, so therefore weaker, Fallon knows Liam’s in no danger so feels zero guilt about the fact that she’s currently squirming in her chair, her breathing becoming shallow, chewing on her bottom lip, her pulse accelerating, her pupils dilated. 

Almost instantly, two security guards approach their table, one either side of the stranger, “Is this man bothering you?” They ask Liam.

“Yeah,” He responds, his eye contact never leaving the man, “As a matter of fact, he is.”

Fallon gets the vibe that the man does this a lot with the way the security guards grab his forearms and give them both an apology before escorting the man away, but Fallon doesn’t pay them much attention as she remains staring at her fiancé who still hasn’t relaxed his stance, remaining on high alert. He stays that way until he sees the security guards pull the man into the elevator, and the doors close.

Satisfied that the danger has gone, Liam turns to her and retakes his seat, pulling an amused expression. She expects him to ask her if she’s okay, or comment on how rude the intruder was, but instead, what comes out of his mouth in a low, husky voice takes her by surprise, “Sweetheart, take them off.”

_What?_

And then it dawns on her what she was doing. Liam’s little protective, macho display had driven her to do the _one_ thing she was intent on avoiding.

_Fuck._

She has to think of a plan, _something_ to attempt to salvage the situation.

“Are you really going to let that guy ruin our evening?” She asks, hoping he’ll play along, but the look on his face tells her instantly that he isn’t going to.

“He hasn’t ruined anything. We’ve had a lovely evening.”

“It was about to get a _lot_ better.” She grits out.

Liam shrugs, “It still can.”

 _Yes, if I’m the one who surrenders,_ she thinks, filling in the blanks, knowing she’s missed her opportunity with Liam. Still, she tries to persuade him nonetheless.

“You’re right, it _can_ ,” She pouts her lips, pushes her breasts forwards, hoping to use some of her sex appeal to get what she wants, “ _If_ you forget you ever saw me biting my lip.”

“Fallon,” He says, almost like a warning, and it sends a jolt of pleasure directly to her core, “A deals a deal. Now pay up.”

She sighs, knowing this isn’t going to go anywhere. He was right, a deal was a deal, and as much as she _hates_ that she’s lost, she has to abide by it. Without much choice, she stands and begins to walk away from the table.

“Where are going?” Liam asks, drawing her back.

“Where do you think I’m going?” She whispers down to him harshly, “I’m going to the bathroom to get you my underwear.”

“No, I don’t think so,” Liam says, his tone still just as authoritative as when he was he was telling the creepy stranger to get lost. He points a finger towards her chair, “Sit back down.”

She glances at the chair, realising instantly what he was implying, and looks at him with wide eyes, “You want me to take them off at the table?”

“Yes.” He responds, simply.

She _could_ say no, of _course,_ she could. It was just a game, a little power play between them where at any second she could say their safe word and they would both completely drop the act. Liam would never hold it against her, she knows that for certainty.

Yet, she can’t deny how much she actually _loves_ this.

The naughtiness, the sneakiness, the _danger_. 

Giving in to temptation, she finds she can’t help but acquiesce, and slowly retakes her seat. Her eyes meet his, and he looks _hungry_. She suppresses a shudder and glances around the restaurant, noticing a few people are looking their way still after the commotion with the intruder. Thankfully, they flick their eyes away, embarrassed at having been caught out by Fallon, her signature intimidating glare on her face.

Satisfied that she has _some_ chance of getting away with this, she moves one hand under the table, regaining Liam’s eye contact. 

“By the way, I want dessert now.” She says as she utilises the slit up the side of her dress to gain access to the lace of her thong, hooking her finger under the strap.

Liam gives her a smile, and it’s far too innocent for what’s currently happening, “Order whatever you want, Sweetheart.”

His hands reach for the small menu a waitress had placed on the side of their table a while ago now, clearly intent on passing one over to her.

“You choose for me,” She insists, and begins to pull on the string, subtly shifting on her chair; to everyone else, it would simply look like she was readjusting her position, but Liam knows better, smirking as he catches onto the motion, knowing exactly what she was doing.

“Good news,” Liam says as he glances down at the menu, “They have Italian truffles.”

“Mmhmm,” Fallon responds, hardly listening as she gets her panties to the point of needing to get passed her thighs and has to calculate her next moves.

“So which flavor do you want?” Liam asks, his smirk growing smugger by the second as he picks up on her dilemma.

The jokes on him though, as Fallon crosses her legs over one another, freeing one side of the lace.

“I don’t care,” She responds, deciding on whether or not to attempt to free one whole leg then work on the other or bring the panties down simultaneously. It’s a difficult decision but eventually decides on the one leg strategy and just hopes the elastic is stretchy enough to allow it to pull all the way down her long legs.

“At least give me some indication, what would you prefer, fruit or chocolate?”

She rolls her eyes, “I _really_ don’t care.”

It’s a lie, obviously, but right now she is struggling with the issue that she is having to reach down to get the underwear passed her knee and her boobs are currently getting squashed on top of the table, enhancing her cleavage, grabbing Liam’s attention.

Her smirk matches his, “Eyes on the menu, Mister,” She demands, watching as he reluctantly goes back to studying the text in front of him.

She rests her open palm flat on the table and pushes her chair out a little to be able to bend further, finally getting the lace to her feet. It means that the table cloth is no longer fully covering her crotch, and at the right angle someone would be able to see what she’s doing, but it’s necessary to do what she needs to do, her heels causing the next issue.

“Oh wait, they have tiramisu,” He declares.

His hand dramatically snaps the menu closed and without hesitation, calls a waitress over.

Fallon panics.

“ _Wait -no. Liam.”_ She hisses at him, but it’s too late.

Fallon’s only moments away from freeing her right leg but is still leaning down, her back arched, and if she lets go now she will have lost most of her progress, but the waitress is making her way over _right now,_ and she needs to do _something. Oh,_ she’s definitely going to mercilessly torture Liam for this when she gets the chance.

In a stroke of genius, she hooks the elastic under her shoe, not yet gone past her heel, but it keeps it in place, and casually sits up straight as the woman approaches the table with a smile and a small notepad in her hand.

“Are you both ready to order dessert?” She asks, and Fallon throws back a grin, attempting to appear as innocent as possible, despite the fact that underneath the table her underwear is currently half off and in a very precarious position.

“Yeah, two of the tiramisu truffles, please.” Liam requests, handing the menus back to her once she writes down their order.

As the waitress turns her back and begins to walk away Fallon takes the opportunity to duck down and unhook the elastic from her shoe, pulling it over her heel and _finally_ frees the material.

She sits back, taking a moment to enjoy the small victory. Then another thought hits her, that whilst yes, she has to free her left leg yet, there was a clear opportunity to get back at Liam. All she has to do is reach through the slit in her dress, move over to her left leg and she manages to pull her panties down enough to reach just above her knee, then puts her plan in place.

“It’s taking you a while,” Liam comments.

“I decided to let you finish off the job,” She says as she rubs her left foot against the inside of Liam’s leg, ruffling the hem of his trousers, the side of her heels brushing against his skin.

His face falls, the smug expression gone in an instant and suddenly the power shifts back to her.

Her foot travels all the way up to his leg and eventually lands in between his legs on the chair, between his knees.

“You want my panties, Liam?” She asks, her voice low and sultry, and gently presses the heel of her shoe into his inner thigh, “Come get them.” 

She watches his eyes darken, his stare becomes almost predatory, and apparently, he doesn’t require much time to think it over before his hand is moving below the table, his fingers lightly tracing over her ankle.

Slowly, his hand makes its way further up her leg, dipping underneath her dress, the sensation leaving her with a pleasant tingle. He’s _just_ able to reach the elastic of her underwear without needing to obviously lean down, and runs his fingers over the crook in the back of her knee, a highly sensitive spot, causing her to shiver.

The look he gives her tells her that he knows exactly what he’s doing. By now, her fiancé knows every inch of her body and how to make it respond the way that he wants it to.

He pulls on the panties, bringing them back down her leg and gently lifts her foot to completely divest her of the lace. It’s a move he’s taken plenty of times, but not like this, not in this setting, and it only makes it feel the more intimate and exciting.

She watches as Liam takes the lace, scrunches it up and places it in his front pocket, _clearly_ visible. She huffs out a laugh, shaking her head slightly, knowing he’s _proud_ of himself, showing off his trophy.

“You know I’ll still make you surrender tonight, regardless,” She throws his way.

Liam raises his eyebrows at her, “You can try.”

~

“Is this _really_ necessary?” Fallon asks, her arms folded over her chest, scowling. “I mean, a pillow wall, Liam, seriously?”

As soon as they had returned home, Fallon had escaped to the bathroom to change outfits into her second purchase of the day, a sheer, _very_ short chemise that she was sure would seduce Liam, except when she had emerged from the bathroom, the sight on their bed had completely ruined those plans.

“After that stunt that you pulled last night,” His voice travels over the vast array of pillows separating them, “Yeah.”

“Well, the difference is, I’m not naked tonight,” She throws back.

“No, you’re just dressed in an incredibly sexy outfit that makes your boobs look great,” He responds, sarcasm laced in his voice.

“So you admit that you like it?”

She’s sure that if this wall wasn’t here, Liam would be all over her.

“Of course I do, hence why I’m really glad I built this wall right now.”

She groans out in frustration, “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Well, considering we made a rule that we have to stay in the same bed, this is the next best thing, and plus, if it works, I don’t care.”

“It probably won’t,” She bites back.

“Why not?” Liam asks, “It worked before.”

She shakes her head, memories of that night flooding to the forefront of her mind, “Things were different back then.”

“You don’t say,” Liam responds.

_So different._

She pauses. Her eyes closing as she transports herself back to that time and place.

“I was so confused back then,” She says, her voice softer now, her anger melting away with an intense wave of emotions suddenly overtaking her, “But there’s one thing I was sure of, and that’s how much I wanted to kiss you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She automatically turns towards his voice, and is annoyingly met by a wall of pillows preventing her from being able to see him, “Why do you sound so surprised by that?”

“I just… I just didn’t know.” His voice sounds small, sad, almost.

Her heart squeezes in her chest at the realisation that Liam had no clue how much restraint she’d had to use that night. How close she had come to giving in to what she knew she shouldn’t do, that connection with him that they’d had since day one pulling tighter, and tighter, becoming impossible to ignore.

They’d made a deal to not talk about regrets they both have about their past mistakes and possible lost time, agreeing that fate had decided the right time for them. That yes, they’d both hurt one another before they got to here but all of that was forgiven, after all, it had made them stronger. But for Liam to not _know_ about her feelings…She _has_ to let him know.

“Liam, I fell in love with you that night.”

There’s silence for a moment, she can’t even hear him _breathe_ , in turn, she feels like she can’t breathe herself _._ It feels like her confession, finally out there, was just hovering in the air between them, thick and heavy, weighing down on her chest.

Momentarily, she regrets saying it, her brain suddenly throwing catastrophic scenarios at her, whispering that she has somehow done something wrong by making the admission.

But then she hears the rustling of the sheets to her side, and one of the pillows is removed to allow them to see one another. Liam’s eyes are full of emotion, almost like he’s surprised by what she’s said.

“That was the moment?” He asks.

Fallon shrugs her shoulders subtly in response, “I mean, I’m pretty sure it was, yeah.”

He smiles at her, “I always wondered.”

Her expression softens, throwing him a sympathetic smile.

“So, can I give you a hug now and take this stupid thing down?” She asks, poking at the offensive obstruction.

“No,” He states, shaking his head, “But nice try,” He says before replacing the pillow, cutting her off from her view of him.

Her jaw drops, speaking in a high pitched tone, “Hey, I was being sincere!”

“I know you were, and I really appreciate it.”

“ _Liam-_ ”

“Listen,” He interrupts, steering the conversation in a different direction, “If it’s any consolation to you, I wanted to do _much_ more than just kiss you that night.”

Fallon scoffs, “Yeah, like what?”

“Well,” He starts, his voice smoky, and she immediately regrets asking that question when she realises what he’s about to do, “If you had _let me,_ you know I’d have worshipped you, kissed every inch of your body before using my mouth to bring you to ecstasy.”

She sucks in a sharp involuntary breath, her mind imagining _exactly_ that in vivid detail, them in Liam’s bed, him kneeling between her knees, no doubt his fingers would have been gripping onto her inner thighs as he would have gone down on her.

“I would have taken my time, Fallon. Figuring out what made you _tick._ Finding out of course that you love to have my tongue pressed against your clit, doing those rough circular motions that makes you lose your mind as I slip my fingers inside you,” Her hands grip at the bedsheets, needing to tether herself to something tangible, resisting the urge to touch herself as she begins to feel a pulsating need at her core. Just to add insult to injury, what Liam is describing is _exactly_ what they were supposed to be doing right now.

“Remember our first time? How surprised you were that I’d found your G-spot so quickly?”

She only hums in reply, unsure if she can trust her voice right now to not give away how incredibly turned on she is.

“It’s so easy Fal, I would have just curved my fingers and thrust them into you, you’d have moaned so loud.”

Despite that vivid imagine only causing the burning desire in her to grow fiercer, she can’t help the smirk that forms on her face as she recalls the conversation they’d had with Laura just before being left alone, “Your Mom wouldn’t have liked to have her beauty sleep interrupted like that.”

“No, she would not have,” Liam confirms, “All the more reason for me to have picked up the pace and make you scream even louder. Oh, I would have made sure you felt good, Fallon, _amazing,_ even.”

There isn’t a doubt in her mind about that at all.

“I wouldn’t have stopped until I’d gave you a mind-blowing orgasm, and then of course, if you wanted more, you could have had it. I would have willingly given you everything you wanted. If you had said the words.”

Fallon can read between the lines. He’s giving her a second chance, they may not be able to alter history, but they could attempt to re-enact that night the way it should have happened. If only she says the words.

“But…” He continues, and she hears him breathe out a sigh, “I guess it’s a good job there was that pillow wall between us, huh?”

It suddenly all just feels like _too_ much, far too much for her to stay in control. Her grip on the bedsheets tightens, but it feels futile, like her body is screaming out for his; just like that night, except this time, she doesn’t have the strength to turn away.

“Fuck the damn pillow wall.”

Without giving him any prior warning, she practically jumps over the offensive barrier of pillows separating them, knocking them flying off in numerous directions, and lands on Liam’s body, straddling his hips. His hands automatically come up to her ribcage, holding her steady and lets out a soft chuckle once he recovers from the shock of her sudden movement.

“Oh, hi ther-”

She cuts him off with a kiss, crashing her lips against his, deciding that he’s already said far too much tonight and needs to put his mouth to better use. He responds to her eagerly, pressing against her mouth hungrily, tilting his head slightly to deepen the kiss. Her body ends up pressed against his, her hands sliding past the hem of his cotton shirt, feeling over his abs, moving up to stroke over his nipples which pulls a moan from his throat.

“Off,” She breathes against his lips in between kisses, tugging on the bottom of the shirt.

She feels his arms wrap around her, holding her close as he slowly sits up, bringing her into his lap, making it easier for her to divest Liam of the article of clothing, having to break the kiss momentarily to pull it over his head before throwing it unceremoniously in any random direction, landing on the floor, forgotten. There’s a smirk on her face as she takes him in, his hair ruffled, naked from the waist up, panting slightly from their kissing.

Then there’s the hardened bulge pressing against her core to consider, revealing that Liam was suffering just as much as she was. With a roll of her hips, she creates a delicious friction that causes them to simultaneously gasp, Liam’s grip on her tightening, his hands moving down to her hips, encouraging her to do that again. She concedes, clasping onto his shoulders and looks him dead in the eyes as she thrusts again, her fingernails digging into his skin as the feeling of pleasure spikes, knowing she’s becoming wetter by the second. 

“ _Fuck,_ Fal,” He groans, squeezing her ass cheek in appreciation before breaking eye contact with her to lean forward and kiss her cleavage, lightly scraping his teeth over her soft skin. She arches her back, pushing into him, throwing her head back and breathes out his name, enjoying the feeling.

Subtly, she starts making small circles with her hips as Liam sucks a bruise into her delicate skin, matching the striking blue and purple hue on his neck. It’s _fine,_ it just means she’ll have to cover up her chest for a few days, unlike Liam who will have to wear his mark like an accessory.

When he eventually pulls back, satisfied with his work and their eyes meet again, their breaths heavy and mingling in the small space between them, she knows she’s at the point of no return unless they stop _right_ now.

She finds she simply doesn’t have the strength to stop, and Fallon yields, practically melting against him as she brings their lips together once more, her fingers carding through his hair, their bodies pressing closer, desperate. She’s going to say it. She _has_ to say it, her mind is far too foggy with pure need and lust for the man underneath her, she has to have him, right now. Screw the whole pride thing, it doesn’t matter. As long as she can have this, have _him_ the way she should have had him that night all that time ago when they were so young and stupid. So she’ll say the words, just as soon as Liam takes his tongue out of her mouth, which he seems to have no plans to do for the foreseeable future.

Not that she minds, Fallon can multitask, she keeps up with the ferocious rhythm of his kiss, but lets her hands travel, landing on the waistband of his boxers, pulling them down as far as she can get them, freeing his throbbing erection. She wraps her fingers around his length, pumping it once, twice, three times, feeling it twitch under her touch. Liam moans into her mouth at the feeling of it, her lips vibrating against the low staccato of his voice.

It urges her to push closer to him, her breasts pressed against his chest and she drinks in the feeling of all of this, relishing in that moment of anticipation, just before they’re joined in the best way possible. The way that makes her feel like she’s on cloud nine, the way that makes her feel like a goddess, the way that makes her feel so incredibly _loved_. Although it has only been a few days, she’s missed this connection with the man she deems to be her soulmate, knowing it was unavailable to her had only caused her to crave it more. Which is why she wastes no time now that she’s made her decision, and using her free hand, she pulls her panties out of the way and uses her hips to raise herself slightly, lining herself up with him.

Liam finally pulls away from the kiss as he feels his tip at her soaked entrance, panting in the small space between them, their dark eyes meeting, _knowing,_ feeling like lightening crashing after all that build-up of pressure in the atmosphere. Their breaths mingle as Fallon whispers, her voicing sounding wrecked, “Liam, I sur-,”

“FALLON! LIAM!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is ready for the Van Kirk dinner next chapter?


	6. Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rules 1, 3 and 6 are very much in use during this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves, but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other, but they have to stop before the other one gets close to orgasm.  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction).

It was possibly divine intervention which had saved Fallon from uttering those two words last night. It was _far_ too much of a coincidence that Anders had chosen that _exact_ moment to storm into their room and interrupt them, and she is certain that it’s some sort of extra-terrestrial sign that she needs to have more restraint. Perhaps she has a guardian angel watching over her, pulling strings, making sure she doesn’t ruin her dignity.

Or maybe it was fate that had decided to make her horse so spooked that the couple had to rush outside in the dead of night to calm the poor girl down, ultimately disrupting her intentions to give in. Whatever it was, she was now more determined than ever to be the one to break Liam and make sure he was the one who surrendered, deciding that she had been given a second chance by some deity out there. She must not, under any circumstances, ruin this opportunity which has been gifted to her.

Starting right now, it is officially operation ‘seduce Liam by any means necessary’.

Which means she is willing to play dirty, much dirtier than she has been already.

"You can do this, Fallon," She mutters to herself as she applies her mascara with precision, entirely focusing on the task in the large mirror above her dresser, situated in her large closet. "There is not a man in this world that you cannot conquer." She flutters her eyelashes, testing out how effectively her makeup is accentuating her ability to throw Liam those blow-job eyes that never fail to break his resolve and have him eating out of the palm of her hand. Satisfied, she twists the mascara lid back on with an abrasive click.

She begins to root around her makeup bag for a particular shade of lipstick to match the outfit she plans to wear today, "Especially, not Jack Liam Ridley Lowden. You have seduced that man with just a look before."

Which was entirely true, on multiple occasions, which gives her a boost of confidence despite her faux pas last night when she had been so close to giving in.

 _Dangerously_ close, in fact.

"But what's important to remember," She continues her words of encouragement as she selects a matt violet shade and glides it over her upper lip, following her cupid's bow, "is that you technically did not surrender last night." Her advancements continue to her bottom lip, painting her skin there a sultry mauve, giving her mouth the appearance of being full, plump, ready for action. "So your pride is completely intact," Her eyes meet her own in the mirror, a look of pure conviction reflecting back at her and her tone lowers as she assures herself, "You can still win this."

"Yeah," Liam's brash voice travels across the short space between them from where he's hovering at the threshold... Where she did not realise he was, causing her to jump, her whole body tensing on reflex until her mind processes that there isn't any danger, breathing out a sigh of relief in the knowledge that it's just him, eavesdropping. She's immediately frustrated, knowing without needing to ask that he'd overheard her private conversation with herself and was likely about to take advantage of that. After all, she knows that if the roles were reversed and she had been the one to find him trying to convince himself that he hadn't almost completely given in the night before, she'd milk this for all it's worth.

Attempting to remain neutral, her eyes glimpse at him for a second, taking in the smug expression on his face which he is still wearing as he pushes himself off the door frame and saunters closer, coming to a stop directly behind her.

She refuses to look him in the eyes, letting him get the mocking out of his system, but his sudden proximity feels like it’s zapped the air from her lungs. She hates that his current arrogant stance is so attractive to her, “You weren’t seconds away from slamming down on my cock and riding me until you saw stars. I mean, it’s not like you just moved your panties out of the way because you were _that_ impatient to have me.” He presses closer to her, his mouth against her ear as he whispers in a low tone, “Oh wait, that’s _exactly_ what happened.”

She has to suppress a shiver from travelling down her spine, covering up all indication that he's having any effect on her. Even though she wants nothing more than to feel his lips press against that sweet spot on her neck, for his hands to travel, rip off the towel that's tied around her body and run his hands over her bare skin. Perhaps even push her over the marble countertop and tease her clit with those long, skilful fingers of his before pushing them into her, deep. It had only been a week since he’d done exactly that, the memory still vivid in her mind, and yet it feels like a lifetime ago since he’d brought her to ecstasy using just his fingers whilst whispering dirty nothings into her ear. 

Of course, instead of doing that, he pulls away, the absence of his warm breath against her skin noticeable and unwanted.

“So yeah,” He continues his sarcastic remarks, “Your pride is _totally_ intact.”

He firmly pats her ass cheek twice before strolling away, a cheeky grin on his face that she catches in the reflection of the mirror, her eyes instinctively rolling at him.

Yet, she can’t help a small smirk playing at her lips; after all, things were technically worse from Liam’s perspective. He’d been seconds away from _winning_ , and now he’s right back to square one with a much more determined Fallon to handle. From her perspective, things were not looking good for him.

There’s a serious conversation they need to have yet, but for now, she grasps hold of an opportunity she can use later to tease him, which she especially wants to do now that he’s been so rude as to taunt her about last night. So she waits for Liam to be safely out of sight before dropping her towel, revealing her naked form underneath and grabs her phone from its position on the counter.

There’s only a handful of times that she’s done this, and each time Liam has _never_ been able to resist doing _something_ about receiving a naked photo of her. Usually rushing home, or to wherever she currently was, to examine her with his own eyes, and then of course fully examining her with… _other_ body parts. Or, there was even that one very memorable time where he took care of himself in his car as she instructed him on what she wanted him to do over the phone. So she’s pretty certain that this will work, or at least bring him that one step closer to surrendering to her.

Holding the phone up, she takes a few snaps, posing to accentuate her breasts. They’re _good,_ enough to stir interest, but she needs something more, something edgy, risky, potentially dangerous. Something to pull him over the edge.

She’s still for a moment as she thinks, hearing him moving around in their bedroom, far away enough that if he makes a reappearance she will have enough time to stop and she knows what she has to do, she just has to gather up some courage first.

Taking a deep breath in, and reminding herself not to get caught up in the moment, she pushes past her hesitation and goes for it, sliding her hand down her torso, watching through her phone screen as her fingers reach her core, imagining it’s Liam’s hand instead. She uses her index finger to tease at her small bundle of nerves, immediately eliciting a familiar sting of pleasure. She involuntary bites at her bottom lip, aching to do more than light strokes that are a mere ghost of a touch. Deciding she could _probably_ handle a little more pressure, she presses her middle finger down on her clit and begins rubbing small, slow circles there.

_Click._

The photo captures a genuine look of pleasure that passes over her face, her eyes dark, her pupils dilating automatically with the rush of oxytocin, staring directly into the camera lens.

She adjusts angles slightly, making sure to capture the purple mark Liam sucked onto her breast last night.

_Click._

Of course, she can’t resist the thought that the sneakiness and risk of knowing that he could walk in at any moment and see her doing this makes this whole situation more erotic. A wicked grin forms on her face, and she throws a challenging glare at her reflection, meant to dare Liam to retaliate in some way.

_Click._

Perfect.

She locks her phone, placing it back down on the counter, the photo stored for future use and busies herself getting into her outfit for the day. It’s enough to keep her mind distracted from the throbbing sensation she’s left with, her core practically begging her for more stimulation. She wills the feeling away, stepping into a short skirt matched with an emerald, high neck blouse, remembering that she needs to hide the bruise on her skin, especially today when she’s meeting with new potential investors.

When she emerges from her closet, she finds Liam perching on the edge of the bed, his phone in hand, typing frantically. There’s a seriousness to his expression that immediately puts her on edge, his eyebrows furrowed, worried lines etched over his forehead.

The events of last night flash through her mind like a battered movie reel, it had seemed like something straight out of a thriller flick. Especially considering the whole event remains a mystery, with one highly disturbing fact which had gripped her mind all night; according to the staff, they recall having seen a shadow lurking near the horse's paddocks that evening. It was likely that which had spooked Snickers into acting so wild that only her and Liam’s presence could calm her down and coax her into the stables.

She involuntarily feels a shiver journey up her spine even now, a nervousness settling in the bottom of her gut, taking hold of her. After all, the Carrington’s made enough enemies; it wasn’t unrealistic to presume that someone could be out there, potentially trying to cause one of them harm. Considering she was so aggressively trying to expand her companies reach as of late, there’s a good chance that _she’s_ the target.

“So, did you find anything?” She asks, her voice small. Liam had woke early to search for signs of an intruder around the grounds, hence why she had _thought_ she was alone earlier.

His sigh and the concern she can see in his eyes as he glances up at her destroys any inch of optimism she has left.

“Yeah, kind of,” He stands to approach her, stopping only inches away, “Nothing concrete, just some footprints that shouldn’t be there and,” He pauses for a moment, like he’s looking for the right words, “I just have this bad feeling.”

Chills take over her body, her blood running cold. Liam believing the same thing as her was _not_ what she had wanted to hear, it only validates the feeling of fear and dread that she has tried to push away from her conscious thoughts all morning. 

“Yeah,” She breathes out, “Me too.”

“The staff are speaking with Blake right now to up the security around the place. Just do me a favour,” He completely captures her attention with his wide eyed-gaze, his hand coming up to carefully caress her arm, offering a small token of comfort to calm her nerves, “Don’t go out there by yourself, be careful.”

His concern, whilst logical and substantiated, doesn’t soothe her in any way when it goes both ways. There was no point in her being careful if Liam wasn’t.

“The same goes for you, okay?” Her arms unfold as she steps into his space and places her palms on his shoulders, “No more running laps around the lake alone, I wouldn’t be able to handle anything happening to you again.”

She feels his hands slide around her back, settling there, warm and strong, tethering her.

“I promise. Alright?” She takes a deep breath in, tries to let the air wash away the anxiety with his commitment to staying out of harm’s way, “And there’s no reason to worry yet, after all, it’s probably just some paparazzi wanting to get the scoop on some wedding details.”

“Yeah,” She nods, despite the stirring feeling in her gut, and tries to follow Liam’s attempt at rationalising the situation, “You’re probably right. Also, speaking of wedding details… Any idea why your Mom is still so intent on us having dinner with her tonight? I agreed to reinstate her invitation to the wedding, but she can get the idea of being in the front out of her head. She can sit on the fifth row or nowhere at all.”

Liam chuckles deeply, shaking his head slightly at her dramatic rant, “I have a pretty good idea of what it is, and if I’m right then I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you.”

She chews on her inner cheek slightly as she considers Liam’s words, “I hate surprises.”

“I know,” He responds, an element of irritation in his voice, “But can you trust me when I say that I don’t think it will be as bad as what you’re assuming?”

How can she argue with those bright blue innocent-looking eyes? Even when she is still sure that whatever it is that Laura has planned for tonight could never be anything remotely close to pleasant.

“Fine.”

He smiles triumphantly, and rather than responding, leans forwards to press his lips firmly against hers. Fallon pushes back against him, savouring the fleeting moment of blissful peace, just the two of them, like time’s standing still, before he pulls back and reality comes rushing back in.

“Come on,” He makes a small gesture towards the door and releases her from his grip, taken hold of her hand instead, their fingers naturally interlacing, “I’ll walk you to your car.”

She squeezes his hand, silently showing her appreciation and grabs the handbag she had prepared earlier that morning before leaving their room with him.

“So, I was thinking…” She begins as they make their way through the manor.

“Hmm?”

“Well, I have meetings all morning _but_ , I was hoping that you could come to the office this afternoon and help me with that very clever plan of yours to expose which lawyer betrayed me,” She throws him a suggestive expression, waggling her eyebrows a little to coax him into agreeing. 

“Oh, a classic Fallon and Liam scheme?” He adds, smirking back at her with a grin equally as mischievous as hers.

Honestly, she’s relieved that there’s a change of conversation which lightens the mood, their flirty banter driving away the bitter aftertaste of their fears that someone is lurking around with the intent to cause them harm.

“Exactly.”

“Sounds good,” He says as they reach the staircase and begin their descent, “I’ll be there… With lunch. Piccolo’s?”

“Ooo, yes, absolutely,” Her enthusiasm is genuine, being one of her top 3 favorite spots in Atlanta, “You know me so well.”

“Chicken Caesar salad, a red berry smoothie _and,_ ” He stops them as they reach the foyer and steps in front of her to gain her full attention, “A raspberry and white chocolate muffin?”

“Do you _want_ me to fit into my wedding dress?”

“Oh, you’ll be fine, despite not getting as much…” He glances down at her, his eyes tracing over her body slowly, and his whole demeanour suddenly shifts into appearing _hungry_. Like a magnet, he pulls her in with his low, smoky voice _,_ “ _Exercise_ as we usually would.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” She responds, her voice flat to accentuate her displeasure.

“Aw babe, it’s nothing you can’t fix. With two little words, of course.”

Oh, Liam was so going to be punished for that.

However, for her new plan to work, she has to push that thought aside and musters a look of innocence. 

“We’ll see what kind of mood I’m in tonight after suffering hours in your mother’s company shall we?” She says, causing Liam to huff out a laugh. “So,” She strategically averts the conversation before Liam has the chance to respond, “Shall we say one for lunch?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good.”

She begins to pull her hand away, but he tightens his grip, keeping her in place, “Where do you think you’re going? I mean I’m walking you to your _car._ ”

There’s no point in her arguing with him, after all, she finds his protective side quite endearing, even if she does think that it’s unnecessary to walk with her the few metres to her car – it’s not like someone would kidnap her from her doorstep. Hopefully.

“You’re being dramatic, but fine.”

But when they emerge from the house, out into the summer air which is cooler than it has been for the past few days, she’s hit with an eerie ambience, and that daunting feeling in her gut returns almost instantly. Paranoia sets in, she feels _watched._ Even though rationally, she knows that it’s probably all in her head, especially as her eyes frantically dart around the landscape and she sees nothing at all out of the ordinary, she is still incredibly grateful that she has Liam by her side.

Liam must feel her nervous energy radiating from her, and decides to give her hand a comforting squeeze, taking the lead, opening her car door as they reach her Porsche. Neither of them needs to say a thing to know how the other is feeling, and what they’re thinking. Yes, something definitely feels _off,_ and the longer they stay there, the worse the feeling gets. So Fallon opts to hurry things along, cupping Liam’s cheek and leaning into him, their lips meeting in the middle.

The kiss is soft, sweet, and lingering, like neither of them really wants to let the other go.

“I love you,” Liam whispers matter-of-factly as they pull back, putting a few inches of space between them.

“I love you too,” Her hand drops from the side of his face, gazing into his eyes to draw strength from him, “See you later.”

“See you later.” He responds, leaning back to allow her to edge closer to the driver’s seat, “Be safe.”

“You too.”

She offers him a small smile before climbing into the car, letting him close the door shut, and as she drives away, she doesn’t stop glancing back into her rearview mirror until she can see that he’s safely back inside.

~

Fallon’s is so lost in her task of examining the proposed magazine covers for the upcoming issue that she doesn’t notice the footsteps approaching from the far end of her office. Her back is turned to the room, leaning over her desk, her brows furrowed as she’s completely lost in thought. That is, until she senses a presence directly behind her, and is proven right when a takeaway cup is slammed down on the desk, wrenching her away from her strategising.

It causes her to jump slightly, already still so on edge from this morning, until her mind catches up with itself and she recognises _him_ instantly, especially as that oh-so-familiar scent of leather and bergamot hits her senses, relaxing her instantly.

A large bag joins the drink seconds later, clearly containing the lunch Liam had promised to pick up.

“That almost ended up on the ground.” Liam’s gravelly voice growls into her ear, pointing at the red-berry smoothie on her desk.

She feels her cheeks burn, a rush of pride flooding through her veins at her victory, and she can’t suppress the smirk that grows on her face in response.

“And why is that?” She asks, intentionally seeming innocent.

Liam isn’t falling for it one bit, and instead, he crowds her, his body pressing against her back, and she feels his lips against her ear, his hot breath pleasantly tickling the shell of it.

“Oh, I think you know why, you naughty girl,” He growls out, the sound of which travels directly to her core, her clit beginning to tingle. There’s something insanely erotic about her sweet, innocent Liam whispering such dirty things to her in a semi-public space.

As if on reflex, she pushes her body backwards, pressing ever closer to her fiancé’s form, her face lighting up as she discovers the full effect the photo she had sent him half an hour ago has had on him.

“Well with what I can feel pressing against my ass right now I’d say _you’re_ quite a naughty boy,” She fires back, her tone sultry, intentionally keeping the mood going.

He hums back, his right hand sliding over her hip, gripping onto it. “You’ve got no right to be sending photos like that to me when I’m getting you lunch.”

She’d sent the very last photo she had taken this morning – it appeared the most authentic, the one which highlighted just how turned on she had been watching her touch herself in the mirror. The brunette _knew_ it would work to put the ball back in her court – a much-needed win on her side.

“I have _every_ right to send you photos like that, rule number 3, remember?” She fires back.

“Hmm, I guess it was well played on your behalf then. It certainly worked to get me all hot and bothered.” He whispers, the volume of his voice lowering to ensure no one overhears his admission.

Fallon can’t help the chuckle that escapes her lips, and she turns her head to look back at him, a familiar spark sizzling between them as their eyes meet, “That must have been a tough car journey over here.”

“Oh, it was very _hard,”_ He confesses before taking her by surprise, grabbing onto both of her hips and spins her around so that she is now facing him. Her hands automatically settle on his leather-covered biceps whilst his arms encircle her, keeping her close. “Was I in the other room when you took that photo this morning?”

“You were merely a few metres away,” She responds, raising a challenging eyebrow at him.

She watches him suck in a breath, the blue of his eyes being lost in his expanding pupils as he looks at her with desire.

“ _God_ , Fal. The way you were touching yourself…” He begins.

She hums, playing at the lapels of his brown jacket, “I thought you’d like it.”

“A little too much,” Liam admits.

“Wanna screw me on my desk?” She asks playfully, subtly gesturing behind herself as she presses closer to his body, their pelvis’ aligning so that she can feel his hardened bulge against her core, “Punish me for misbehaving?”

“Yes, I really, really do _want_ to,” He grits out, obviously relishing in the pressure against his erection, and yet, is resisting to the best of his abilities.

“The only thing stopping you is two little words,” Fallon chimes, looking up at him from under her lashes, her eyes wide, a pout on her lips meant to entice him.

“And all of the people here,” Liam adds.

“I can get rid of them in a second,” She responds quickly, completely dismissing his hindrance.

He contemplates it, she knows he does. She can see it in his eyes as his gaze turns heated and his fingers flex on her hip. For a brief moment, she thinks he might just take her up on her offer, but instead he begins to pull away, his hands falling to his sides as he puts space between them, “Eat your lunch.”

In a split-second decision, and with some fight still left in her, Fallon tightens her grip on the lapels of Liam’s jacket and pulls him back to her, their bodies colliding.

“Oh, but your jeans look so tight, honey,” She says as her hand travels to his crotch and mercilessly squeezes over the hard line of his dick, causing him to close his eyes briefly and let out a low moan, “That must be uncomfortable.”

When his eyes reopen, he looks at her with a predatory stare, his jaw clenched, breathing heavily through his nose, trying to keep control.

“Fallon…” He says it as a warning for her to stop with the teasing, which doesn’t have its desired effect on Fallon whatsoever. It only spurs her on more.

“Come on, Liam,” She coaxes as her fingers continue to trace over his erection, “I’ll even let you spank me for being such a bad girl.”

His resolve seems to slip as he breaks into action, his hands return to her body, but this time as one settles on her hip, his other goes to her bare thigh, slowly moving up, dipping underneath the hem of her skirt. It travels further over her sensitive skin, bringing the material up with it to land on her ass cheek, his fingers flexing, pinching the skin, causing her to gasp out in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Fallon moves to press closer to him, one hand still massaging over his now throbbing member, the other on his neck as she leans into his ear to whisper, “That’s it, right there. Wasn’t that so bad of me to send you a dirty picture whilst you were out in public? You ought to smack my ass for that, you know you want to.”

He hesitates. Fallon knows he’s trying everything he can to resist, so she decides to continue her assault on his resolve, breathing hotly over his ear before nibbling at the lobe, bringing it between her lips to suck on the sensitive skin.

She feels him shudder in her arms, and then suddenly he’s grasping with both hands at her hips and using his weight to walk them backwards, the tops of her thighs hitting the desk behind her, offering her a platform to lean against. The action takes her by surprise, but she catches up quickly, a small smile playing on her lips as lust takes over the controls of her mind.

Liam towers over her from this angle, and for a split second, she catches a glimpse of the determined look in his eyes, seconds before he dips his head and makes an assault with kisses on her neck. He causes her to gasp out loud at the sensation, her eyes closing to fully enjoy the moment.

Her hands move up to his head, her fingers carding through his dirty blonde hair, and she can’t help but pull on the short strands as he nuzzles at her most sensitive spot just below her ear.

 _“God, Liam,”_ Fallon whines out, spurring him on. She feels him lick a long stripe down her throat and kiss at the crevice between her neck and shoulder, intensifying that tingling between her legs.

She can’t stop her hands from wandering, searching for _something_ , finding what they’re looking for as she pulls the leather jacket from his shoulders and throws it unceremoniously on the ground. Then her hands are back, seeking her next obstacle, and they end up at his chest, her nimble fingers beginning to unbutton his white shirt, aching to feel his muscles beneath.

He growls against her skin once she manages to gain access, her palms roaming over his pecks, taking special care to trace over his nipples, and is rewarded with him biting down on her skin, setting off an intense mixture of pleasure and pain. She finds she doesn’t have it in her to chastise him for giving her _another_ hickey, this time in a place that’s much harder to cover up, considering there’s a good chance that Liam’s about to fully surrender to her… In the middle of the workday in her office, but nonetheless, at this point, she isn’t fussy about the time or location. She just _needs_ him.

As if he can read her thoughts, he pulls back to look at the mark he’s made with his mouth, a smirk on his lips, apparently proud of himself.

He doesn’t hesitate for long though, casting his attention to Fallon’s lips, and their eyes lock for a moment, an unspoken conversation happening between them. Liam’s asking for permission to continue, to go further, and all it takes is a subtle nod from Fallon for his mouth to be pressed to hers, caught in a passionate lock, their lips moving hungrily against one another.

Liam’s attention turns to working on slowly unbuttoning her blouse. He gets only halfway before impatiently cupping her breast, causing Fallon to break the kiss momentarily to suck in a sharp breath, her eyes springing open, anticipating more from him. Their eyes meet, both breathing heavily into the small space between them and Liam flashes her a devilish grin as he works on pulling the lace of her bra down, freeing her breast.

Fallon can see the intention in his eyes before he even makes a move, his thumb and forefinger pinching at her nipple, hardening it, and she knows that’s the intended destination of where his mouth is going next. It makes her heart race, matching the rhythm of the pounding sensation in-between her thighs, and she bites at her bottom lip, her hand snaking up to the back of Liam’s head, waiting for him to make a move.

Subconsciously, her back arches, pushing her boobs towards his face as if in offering. It works to tempt him into taking the bait, his head dipping, giving Fallon a clear view of her office… A clear view of the door at the far end of it swinging open abruptly.

She freezes, her eyes widening as the sight of her assistant comes quickly into view, and it’s far too late for her to shout for her to not come in, so instead she blurts out, “Jesus, Alison! Can’t you see we’re in the middle of something here?”

Liam’s head snaps up immediately, guilt written all over his face as he thinks fast and puts his arms around her, ensuring to completely shield Fallon’s current indecency from view.

“I am _so_ sorry,” Alison frantically mumbles out, “but you said that as soon as the phone arrived to bring it in here and…”

_The phone._

Of course, Fallon had asked Alison to get them a burner phone and to bring it to her, stat. Meaning, this interruption was technically her fault.

“-Alright, yes, I get it.” Fallon grits out, glancing over Liam’s shoulder, “Thank you, you can just put it on the table and leave. _Now_.” 

“Yes, of course, sorry, again.” Her assistant stammers, clearly flustered, practically throwing the bag on the table and darting out of the room, the door closing with a resounding bang.

They both let out a long sigh, letting go of another to begin reassembling themselves, the air thick with their unresolved sexual tension. Fallon clenches her jaw, deciding to remain silent as she processes how _yet again_ they had been _so_ close to ending this stupid competition between them and something had to go and ruin it.

“It’s probably a good thing that she just stopped us from, you know…” Liam comments, being the first to break the silence as he buttons up his shirt, still getting his breath back.

“No, it isn’t,” She whines out, her tone high pitched, the frustration radiating from her as she fumbles with the buttons of her blouse, “ _Why_ is everyone interrupting us lately? It’s becoming _really_ inconvenient.”

Liam smirks at her, readjusting the sleeves of his shirt, “You didn’t think it was inconvenient last night when Anders interrupted us and saved you from losing the challenge. Maybe Alison is _my_ guardian angel.”

She _glares_ at him as she rounds her desk, needing to put some space between the two of them before she does something she regrets. Like throw him onto one of the sofas and rides him into oblivion. It _really_ doesn’t help that his hairs all mussed, and his chest is still rising and falling dramatically, now unfortunately hidden underneath the white cotton of his shirt.

“So you admit you were close to giving in just now?” She asks as she throws herself down onto her chair, trying to focus her attention on anywhere but _him._

“I don’t think you want to know the answer to that question,” he responds as he begins rooting around the bag he’d placed on her desk minutes before, going back to their original plans.

“God damn it, that means it’s a yes,” She groans out in frustration, “I am firing her immediately.”

“Oh please, you’ll never find a PA as good as her, and you know it,” Liam says as he hands Fallon her salad which she practically snatches from him, slamming it down on her desk, her mood turning completely sour.

“Perhaps not,” She bites out, “but I am _definitely_ stealing her favorite pen.”

~

_“Where are you guys?”_

Fallon sighs against the phone pressed to her ear, looking out the passenger side window of Liam’s Audi, taking in the view of the trees either side of them on the empty road, dusk slowly approaching. “On the way to Laura Van Kirk’s,” She replies to Sam, “she summoned us for dinner.”

_“Yikes, I thought she was still frozen out after the whole Connor thing?”_

“Let’s just say she’s on a trial period.” She glances over at Liam, seeing him smile subtly, his eyes still glued to the road, “and plus, Liam seems to think she’s going to give me something important tonight, or something, I don’t know.”

_“Sounds horrific.”_

She chuckles humourlessly, a knot already in her stomach with the same anticipation of the evening, “It probably will be.”

_“Anyway, I called to ask if you ever figured out who it was who leaked your contract? I’m bored and in need of some decent gossip.”_

Her eyes roll, but it’s not exactly surprising to hear that Sam wants the latest on her office drama.

“Well, yes, actually, just this afternoon. Liam came up with this genius plan last night,” Her hand lands gently on his lap, caressing his knee with her thumb, his eyebrows rising in response, “Didn’t you sweetie?”

Liam simply hums apprehensively in reply.

_“Oh? Do tell.”_

“So, we got a burner phone and gave the number to all of the lawyers claiming it was the contact details of an anonymous rival bidder. They all had a different figure to write up a contract, and then we just waited, it took forty-five minutes for the phone to ring.” Her fingers laying atop Liam’s knee flex involuntarily as the anger and betrayal she’d felt at the time resurfaces, and she feels him tense underneath her touch. It catches her attention immediately, her initially innocent gesture suddenly sparking an idea that’s much more on the guilty side.

_“Damn, they were pretty keen, so who was it?”_

“Oh, her name is Sandra, she’s actually new to the company,” Lazily, she strokes her fingers upwards, moving over Liam’s inner thigh and hears his breath catch in this throat, “Pretty sure she’s a corporate spy.”

_“I’m surprised you didn’t interrogate a confession out of her.”_

“Oh, trust me I wanted to,” She responds, and begins tracing idle circles as if she’s just doing it absentmindedly, “Sandra lawyered up _very_ quickly.”

She has to suppress grinning when she sees Liam’s fingers flex on the steering wheel, his jaw noticeably clenched, and she decides to bravely inch higher up.

_“Because that’s not suspicious…”_

“It’s not like she can deny it, we caught her red-handed. You should have been there when Liam answered the phone. Honestly, it was kind of hot when he was all _‘Sandra could you come to Fallon’s office please?’”_

As they turn into the Van Kirk estate, Fallon decides to just go for it and without warning, covers Liam’s crotch and feels for the tip of his already hardening cock, causing him to shudder.

“Fal-”

“She walked in with her resignation letter already in her hand,” She continues, cutting Liam off, continuing to massage over the spot, much to his frustration.

_“I’m sure you’ll find some way to get your Fallon-style revenge.”_

“I always do,” She responds in a sing-song voice as she applies even more pressure, feeling Liam twitch underneath her fingers.

“Fallon,” Liam growls out, and Fallon isn’t sure if he’s moaning with pleasure or saying her name as a warning to get her to stop. She presumes Liam isn’t sure either, probably caught in a battle between knowing he has to walk into his Mom’s house in a matter of minutes and also wanting to chase the sensations she’s giving him.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get much time to think it through as the Van Kirk mansion comes into view, “Oh, we’re almost here, talk later, Sam.”

_“Okay, have fun-”_

She ends the call before Sam even finishes his sentence and disregards her phone, throwing it into her purse, returning her attention to her fiancé who is just pulling the car up to the front of the well-lit manor. Her fingers are still dancing over his semi-hard member when he brings the car to a stop and turns off the engine.

His head turns towards hers with a look in his eyes so fiery that it takes her breath away, and he shakes his head subtly before speaking in a low, gravelly tone, “You are in _so_ much trouble.”

Her heart skips a beat – which she attempts to disguise with a confident smirk, mirroring his bravado with a quirk of her brow.

“Oh, really?” She throws back.

“Yeah.” He answers without hesitation.

Her eyes cast down to his crotch where her hand rests, the bulge now evident in the front of his black suit trousers, “I think you’re the one in trouble, mon chéri.”

“Yes, touching me up whilst I was driving was a _great_ idea, Fal.”

She shrugs nonchalantly, “I knew you would have told me to stop if you had actually lost concentration.”

“True.” He admits, “Still, I will get you back for that.”

“I look forward to it,” She teases, her indifferent attitude clearly bothering him as he huffs out a breath.

“I don’t think you’ll be saying that when I do,” He throws back assertively and unclips his belt, “Alright, let’s go.”

“You don’t want to give it a few minutes?” She lightly pats his crotch for emphasis.

“Trust me, the sound of my Mom’s voice will make me immediately flaccid.”

She chuckles to herself as he pulls on the door handle and climbs out of the car with determination, “Well, that just sounds like a challenge.”

Her side of the door opens, Liam of course always being a gentleman, and she takes the hand he offers out to help her up, their fingers interlacing once she’s standing. 

“Oh, by the way,” She says as they head towards the grand entrance doors, waiting for them to open once Liam rings the doorbell, “If you were thinking about trying to get my underwear in your front pocket tonight I wouldn’t bother. I’m not wearing any.”

~

They make it through the starting course without too much drama, except for Laura insisting that Fallon and Liam sit across from one another with her at the head of the table. _“To ensure I don’t see any public displays of affection that will kill my appetite,”_ then had the nerve to add, _“and don’t think I haven’t already spotted those hickeys on your necks, what are you, teenagers?!”_

Fallon had to really bite her tongue at that, having made Liam a promise that she would play as nice as possible to make the evening not wholly insufferable.

Yet, when the main course arrives, and their conversation is still focused entirely on some Van Kirk family drama that she really does not care for, Fallon’s patience begins to wear thin, wondering why, of course, they had been invited here at all.

“So Fallon, your dress is ready, I presume?” Laura asks, pulling her attention back to the conversation, the one about Liam’s cousin getting mono twice in the past month apparently _finally_ over.

However, Laura asking about her dress still puts her on edge, immediately assuming her future mother-in-law is about to make some judgemental comment without even seeing the thing.

“I just have one more fitting,” She answers cautiously, her walls immediately up, prepared to defend her territory if necessary.

“Excellent,” Laura throws her a smile, a well-rehearsed one that doesn’t reach the eyes, not that Fallon thinks she’s ever actually seen Laura genuinely smile, “there is one more alteration that you need to make to it.” 

And just like that, she flicks the switch that takes Fallon from ‘playing nice’ to full-blown defensive-Fallon.

“Excuse me?” She asks in a high pitched tone, her eyebrows raised in surprised at Laura’s demand.

Ignoring her completely, Laura looks over to one of the staff hovering in the corner, waiting for instructions, “Rachel, be a dear and fetch the box that I left on my desk in the office.”

The young woman clad in her VKI uniform nods and scampers off immediately, meanwhile leaving Fallon still completely bewildered. Laura remains refusing to look her in the eyes, and instead of actually responding to her question, she goes back to eating small bites of her dinner.

So, thankfully, when she manages to catch Liam’s attention, he’s got a knowing smile on his face, meaning he must have been right about the reason she had asked them over, which he had promised this morning was _“actually a good thing.”_ But an alteration to her dress? At this late stage? Surely Liam would know that kind of thing would definitely _not_ be a good thing. In fact, it won’t even be happening considering her dress has already been made to her _exact_ specifications, and even one small moderation could throw the whole thing out of balance.

Eventually, Laura looks her way again, providing a few more details, “Fallon, I am going to give you your ‘something borrowed’ for the wedding,” Laura announces, making Fallon’s eyes go wide. Her mouth opens to protest – wanting _nothing_ from Laura Van Kirk whatsoever, especially not something _borrowed_ which Laura wants her to add to her dress. The last thing she needs is something like that hanging over her head.

“Just wait until you find out what it is,” Liam says, emotion clearly evident in his voice, “please, Fal.”

How can she refuse those pleading eyes? 

She throws them both a tight-lipped smile, one that clearly says that she isn’t optimistic but that she’ll nevertheless wait for the grand reveal… Anxiously.

It feels like a lifetime waiting for the staff member to return, by which point she has pushed her plate away after only eating half of her salmon, her appetite gone. It earns her a disapproving look from Liam, but before he can say anything, the young girl is back, and Fallon’s attention is drawn to the small box she hands over to Laura.

“Ask the rest of the staff to clear the plates away,” Laura instructs, making Fallon huff out a breath in frustration, becoming increasingly impatient.

Thankfully, it only takes a minute for the staff to surround them and the table is emptied, meaning that Laura can _finally_ reveal what’s in the small box.

Laura appears almost as apprehensive as Fallon as she picks it up from her place on the table, slowly opening the lid and sets it down in between her and Liam with a level of caution that doesn’t go unnoticed.

“Well, here it is,” She says before retreating slowly, almost like she is afraid of it.

Fallon furrows her brows at the odd behaviour but dismisses it as curiosity takes over and she leans forwards to look at its contents. Sitting inside the old jewellery box is an ornate, silver pendant in the shape of a heart with the initials VK etched into the metal. It’s beautiful, but its antique style won’t match her dress at all, which sets her on edge with Laura’s expectations.

“And what exactly do you want me to do with it?” She asks, awaiting an actual explanation.

“Well, it’s a pin.” Laura clarifies, which Fallon rolls her eyes at because she can see that, obviously, “You sow it into the inside of your dress. It’s a Van Kirk tradition.”

“Oh,” Fallon breathes out, caught off guard by the surprisingly sweet gesture, which of course, only makes her all the more suspicious that there must be some kind of catch to it.

“You _must_ wear it, Fallon,” Laura stresses, her tone demanding, which instantly rubs Fallon up the wrong way.

“I’m sorry, _must?”_ She asks, sounding offended.

“Mom-” Liam begins, attempting to diffuse the brewing argument.

“Yes.” Laura continues, her expression stony, “you see, it’s cursed.”

Fallon’s eyes widen immediately, feeling instantly repelled by the object sitting only inches away from her at the table. After all of that drama with the psychic who managed to strangely predict so much correctly, Fallon doesn’t take her chances with things like _cursed objects_ anymore.

“Mom, that was just something that Grandma made up to scare you,” Liam adds, chuckling breathily at the ridiculous notion, but Fallon doesn’t take that in at all, her head spinning with the idea that Laura was attempting to give her something that could curse their wedding day in some way.

“Excuse me, what?” Fallon interrupts, demanding attention in the room, “It’s cursed? Then why would I want it anywhere near me? Is this some kind of sick way for you to try to stop our wedding again? Because I swear to you Laura, it will not work-”

“Actually, no.” Laura states, a spiteful tone evident in her voice, “I’ve _unfortunately_ come to the realisation that there is nothing at all that I can do to break you two apart… Despite my efforts. So, if you’re going to be so insistent on getting married then _that_ ,” She points at the jewellery box sitting inches from her, “Must be your something borrowed, you see I didn’t sew it into my dress, Fallon. I know this might surprise you, but I was somewhat rebellious as a young lady and my mother told me that if I didn’t wear it, then my husband would die before his time.”

Fallon's heart skips a beat. John.

“Oh my god.”

Liam hangs his head, sighing loudly before addressing Laura, “You can’t seriously believe that it’s cursed…”

“-Well your Aunt Moira refused to wear it too Liam,” She snaps, “and look at what happened to your Uncle Max.”

That only adds to Fallon’s currently spiralling thoughts, giving Laura’s tale more credibility, and she begins to feel like she can’t breathe.

“Oh my god,” Fallon repeats.

“Oh great, now you’re freaking her out. Fallon, hey, hey, hey,” Liam says, coaxing her to gain her attention. Her wild eyes snap to his, “it’s _just_ a coincidence. It’s something my grandma had passed to her from generations of women before, and I thought it would be nice for you to have it too. I promise you, it is _not_ cursed.”

“How can you say that when your Dad died so young? _And_ Max?” Her head turns back to Laura, ignoring Liam’s groan, “Were there any others?”

Laura shakes her head, “All the other Van Kirk brides have worn it in their dresses, and their husbands have been fine.” 

“So you’re telling me that if I have that sewn into my dress for the wedding, then there’ll be no curse? Liam will be okay?”

“This is ridiculous-”

“Exactly,” Laura confirms, and leans across the table to take the jewellery box into her hands, “Please, don’t make the mistake that I made by not wearing it… Not with my son’s life on the line.”

It occurs to her that she’s never actually seen Laura look so genuinely concerned before, clearly entirely convinced by her theory of the pin being cursed and Fallon honestly can’t deny the overwhelming evidence in its favor. All it takes is one glance over to Liam, her heart squeezing in her chest at the idea of losing him, and she breaks completely.

“Pass it over.” She says, holding out her hand, practically grabbing it from Laura’s once it’s within reach, “I’ll make sure I have this with me.”

Fallon even manages to ignore the smug expression on Laura’s face as she sits back slowly, clearly satisfied with convincing Fallon of her story.

Instead, Fallon decides to cast her eyes down to the pendant in her hands and fully takes in the tiny silver ornament. Strangely, she suddenly feels an emotional attachment to the antique, like keeping it close to her will somehow guarantee that she and Liam will live the rest of their long lives together. Which she _knows_ , rationally, is kind of ridiculous, that okay, maybe it was just a coincidence that John and Max died when they were still pretty young. Besides, her and Liam had technically already married, and he was fine–

“My apologies for interrupting, Mrs Van Kirk, but you have a call from Mr Kerr, he says it’s urgent.”

Laura looks up at the interjecting staff member and sighs out loud, giving off the impression that the call wasn’t unexpected, but it was an inconvenience to her.

“Excuse me.” She says to the couple before standing and waltzing out of the large dining room, her heels clacking mercilessly on the hardwood floors.

Liam eye’s trace over Fallon, watching as she’s still sat staring at the box in her hands, her expression frozen, “Fal?”

His voice pulls her back into the room, but her thoughts remain frantic, obsessive, scared. Her eyes meet his, fear clearly evident in her blue orbs.

“Liam, what if the reason that you had your accident was that we got married and I didn’t have this sewn into my dress?”

He blinks at her, his expression stoic, like he cannot believe the way she’s acting right now, “You can’t be serious.”

“Your heart literally stopped beating… It must have been a sign.” She breathes out, clutching tighter at the box in her hands.

“Fallon, the reason I had my accident is that your psychotic brother smashed a heavy clay pot around my head and then I almost drowned. It did _not_ have anything to do with you not wearing a pin in your dress.”

She shrugs, knowing they aren’t going to be able to convince one another on this and she leans down to place the fragile box in her purse, “I would rather not take any chances.”

That earns her a smile, his eyes crinkling slightly in the corner as he lets out a small laugh, “Well, thank you, I guess… For wanting me to stick around.”

“Till the end of the time, remember?” She throws his way, a coy smile on her lips.

Liam chuckles, taking hold of her hand resting on the table, his warmth soothing her nerves instantly, “Regardless of all of that, I remember it meant a lot to my Grandma. She would always talk about how she wanted _my_ bride to wear it. You’re supposed to sew it near your heart.”

“Aw,” She turns her palm up to face his, their fingers clutching together, “well that’s sweet.”

They share a moment, their eyes sparkling as they take each other in, and Fallon finds herself calming instantly. Cursed or not – that pin obviously means a lot to Liam, so as long as she makes sure it’s close to her heart when they say their vows, everything will be alright.

“You okay now?” He asks, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Yeah,” She responds softly. 

“Oh god, I’m gone for one minute, and you two are already canoodling?” Laura’s shrill voice fills the room, demanding to be heard. "We’re holding hands, I’d hardly call that canoodling,” Liam responds, looking over at his Mom as she retakes her seat.

“I don’t care what you call it, I’d like to actually digest my dinner, thank you.”

It’s as if her yearly supply of genuine emotion has been all used up in that one pleading exchange and although Fallon isn’t going to defy her on wearing that pin in her dress, she _is_ going to fight one rule. No one stops her from touching her fiancé.

“However will you fare at the wedding with all the kissing?” Fallon asks sarcastically, earning her a snicker from Liam as she sits back in her chair, their hands parting.

“I’ll bring a bucket to hurl in.” Laura bites back before taking a sip of her wine, “Speaking of the wedding, what are the seating arrangements for the reception? I hope you’ve put me near that dishy ex of yours, Culhane is it?”

“Ew, Mom.”

Fallon ignores the comment, her focus on something else entirely as she knocks her foot against Liam’s under the table, giving him a playful look which he returns as soon as she catches his gaze.

“What?” She asks in a mock-innocent tone, her voice pitched high, “He’s single, right?”

Liam’s foot knocks back, a teasing look on his face as Fallon retaliates instantly, pinning him down with the platform of her heel.

“I don’t know,” Fallon returns, still grinning at Liam across the table, “It’s kind of hard to keep up with him.”

Liam’s toes squirm, attempting to knock Fallon off, but she’s determined and adds more pressure, making him mouth out a silent ‘ouch’ at her, despite the fact there’s no way she’s adding enough force to actually cause him any pain.

In a counter-attack, he takes her by surprise by using his other foot to push against her heel, forcing her to slide off, freeing him. Liam throws her a wink, which only makes her more competitive, realising she needs to ditch the heels.

“Oh, well, at the end of the day, as long as I’m far away from your father things should be fine,” Laura remarks before taking another gulp of wine, the couple throwing one another a perplexed expression before looking her way.

Liam is the first to address her, “And why is that, exactly?”

Laura’s eyes widen for a brief moment, like she’s been caught off guard, which furthers Fallon and Liam’s suspicions that she’s just let slip something significant. “No reason,” She shrugs, “It’s just that I don’t want to cause any business rivalry drama during your big day.”

Now _that_ Fallon doesn’t believe for one minute, but when she looks over and sees that Liam is still transfixed on Laura, analysing her, attempting to determine her true intentions for not wanting to be anywhere near Blake at the wedding, she takes the chance to pounce. She quietly lifts her foot out of her stilettos and sensually rubs against his ankle, earning his attention.

“And lighting,” Laura continues, “Lighting is crucial for the photographs, I don’t want to look washed out.”

Under normal circumstances, Fallon would usually have been bothered by Laura being so pedantic about the details of her own wedding day. However, right now she’s far too distracted watching Liam’s neck slowly blush to pink the further her foot travels up his inner calf.

“I’m sure the lighting will be fine, Mom,” Liam responds, his eyes flicking back to Fallon’s and she can see the playfulness reflected in them – clearly, he’s enjoying defying Laura’s rules just as much as she is.

That gives her the confidence to straighten her knee, following the line of his inner thigh, sliding between his legs.

She’s sure that if this was a typical situation, Liam would have grabbed her foot and pushed her away by now, because he knows what’s coming – and it’s incredibly inappropriate, and yet he’s just smirking at her, giving her permission.

“I’ll need plenty of _natural_ light,” Laura continues, which Fallon completely ignores, and instead presses her foot directly over Liam's crotch, causing him to squirm in his chair, giving her a warning stare which she disregards completely.

“Well, we’re planning to have a lot of the photos taken in the ga-ahhh-rden,” Liam clearly tries his best to disguise the moan as Fallon clenches her toes over his cock, rubbing over it mercilessly, and she has to bite her lip to refrain from laughing.

Apparently, Laura had picked up on his slip in demeanour, “What-”

“Sorry,” Liam interrupts, looking her way, rambling slightly as he tries to save himself, “tried to stop myself from yawning there, wow, I am _so_ tired. Fallon and I didn’t get much sleep last night, her horse was acting weird.” He explains before looking down at his watch, “I think it’s time to get home and go to bed, don’t you think, sweetheart?”

Fallon perks up, Liam being so impatient to leave could be a sign that he’s close to surrendering, that she’s possibly finally broke him. She throws him a knowing smile which he returns, “Yeah, we still have… Things to do.”

“Just one thing,” He returns, “that I need to take care of.”

Her eyes light up, and she immediately makes a start to leave, slipping her foot back into her heel and leaning down to pick up her purse.

“But you haven’t even had dessert yet,” Laura complains, “I had your favorite made… Kiwi lime pie.”

Fallon halts her movements, side-eyeing Laura, “Liam’s allergic to kiwi.”

The billionaire furrows her brows, confusion written on her face, “Since when?”

“Since forever.” Liam returns, “Alright, well. It’s been nice, Mom but we really do need to go.” He stands, glancing at Fallon, a heated look in his eyes, “ _Now._ ”

Fallon joins him with haste, throwing a flippant goodbye at Laura before they rush out of the dining room, their hands joining once they’re side-by-side and heading for the entrance doors with determination.

“Oh, Sir, allow me to bring the car around for you,” One of the VKI staff says, clearly not expecting the couple to have appeared in the foyer so abruptly.

“It’s fine,” Liam responds, taking the keys from his hands and opening the large doors himself, “We’ll walk.”

He pulls Fallon outside into the cooling summer night air with a sense of eagerness, letting out a breath as soon as the door closes behind them, and they’re finally alone. She suspects they both have the same intentions as silently, they unlace their fingers and slip their arms around one another, Liam’s hand landing on her ass as they begin to walk away from the Van Kirk mansion and towards the parking area.

She keeps up with him, being just as impatient as he is. It’s only a short stroll until they see his car around the corner in a secluded spot, hidden from view.

The lights flash as Liam unlocks the doors and moves to stand behind Fallon once they approach the Audi.

“Get in the back of the car,” Liam commands into her ear, and it sends a shiver down her spine to hear him be so demanding and desperate. She of course obliges, opening the car door with haste, throwing her purse somewhere in the footwell, forgotten.

The prospect that this might be finally it, she may have eventually tormented him to the point that he’s going to surrender to her in the backseat of his car makes her practically giddy with excitement.

She quickly turns so that they’re facing one another and she pushes herself up against him, their lips centimetres away from touching, hot breaths mingling, before she teasingly pulls away, denying him a kiss, and lowers herself down onto the leather seats. He follows her closely, hovering over her body as she shuffles backwards, her back eventually hitting the opposing door.

Liam pulls the door closed behind him, enveloping them in darkness, the only light coming from the lamps adorning the driveway.

“So, what’s your plan, Mr Ridley?”

The look that passes over his expression almost frightens her, any shred of innocence gone as he smirks down at her, his face only inches from hers, appearing downright predatory.

He chuckles darkly, “You’ve tortured me so much today, Fallon. First, sending me that picture, then in the office, in the car, now at my mother’s dining table? That was _very_ naughty of you. So, now it’s your turn.” 

Her breath catches in her throat when it occurs to her that he’s got her into this back seat under false pretences. Liam has no plans to surrender, he’s here for revenge; pure and simple. Her only way out of this is to put a stop to whatever is about to happen… Or to surrender, which is _not_ going to happen. Yet, she finds she doesn’t have it in her to stop him before he starts, in all honestly Fallon _loves_ the thrill of it all; Lust, desire, curiosity, call it whatever, the reality is that she’s under his spell, entirely at his mercy.

“You can certainly try to,” Fallon throws back, instilled with confidence in her self-control since the incident last night which she doesn’t plan to repeat, sure that she can still flip this so that he’s the one to give in.

“Oh, I will.” He responds, his voice low and husky with lust.

He isn’t gentle when he grabs the hem of her dress with both hands, clutching the material with his fingers before forcefully pushing it up, his palms now resting on her hips.

She thinks he’s going to kiss her when he moves closer, but at the last second his head dips to kiss at her neck instead, finding the spot he’d already marked on her skin earlier. He gives it a soft peck before moving even further down to nuzzle at her breasts, repositioning his body further away as he goes, until eventually he’s nestled between her legs.

Slowly, he reaches back to pull off her heels, and they clatter into the footwell as he throws them without care, one by one. Then he’s pulling back and looks her in the eyes as he travels further still, bending slightly as he reaches his final destination, lingering directly over her core.

A flush of heat crawls its way over her skin, hot and suffocating, her inner desire roaring to life as she feels his breath tickle over her centre the closer he gets, the anticipation building. It reminds her that they were in this position only a few nights ago, except she had turned him away before his mouth could make any contact – this time, however, she knows she doesn’t have the will power to say no. She’s _aching_ for him, becoming wetter by the second, especially when he brings his fore and middle fingers up to part her lips, still holding her gaze with an intense stare as he darts his tongue out and gives her a teasing lick over her clit, like he’s giving himself just a taste.

She lets out a gasp into the otherwise silent space. This is the most intimate touch he’s given her in _days_ , and it immediately sends a pleasant shiver over her body as her walls clench in envy that they aren’t getting any attention.

“You remember our safe word, right?” He asks.

“Of course,” she whispers back, already a little breathless, “but why would I need to say the-”

He cuts her off as he descends on her bundle of nerves and sucks with force, making Fallon literally see stars. “Oh, _fuck_.”

Her hands fly up to his head, fingers carding through his short strands, clenching, pulling, as he relentlessly continues. Her hips involuntarily rise, adding more pressure, which Liam takes advantage of by slipping his hands underneath her ass, keeping her at that angle, even as he eases off, giving her a moment of relief.

It’s short-lived, however, as he begins to swirl his tongue, the intense feeling of pleasure bursting into a tingling sensation. A loud moan escapes her, and she closes her eyes, intending to get lost in the feelings his mouth is giving her, but after a minute, he halts completely.

“Why did you stop?” She whines, pulling on his hair, trying to create some sense of friction again.

“You closed your eyes,” He clarifies, “and I want you to look at me.”

They spring open instantly, and she looks down, their dark, pupil-blown eyes meeting once more.

“Good girl.” He says and opens his mouth wider to allow his tongue to press down on her, licking over her slowly, the stubble on his chin now rubbing across her entrance, obviously soaking him, and it’s _so_ erotic and the friction feels _so_ good.

Her hand grips at the headrest, riding a sudden wave of pleasure which makes her tremble involuntarily – and that’s when she feels it, the start of her orgasm building between her legs.

“Oh, god.”

She resists looking away, detesting the thought of him stopping again, and is rewarded with him licking over her faster, deeper, adding pressure.

She’s completely forgotten where they are, or how they even got here, lost entirely in him, focused on nothing but the pleasure which is building, and building… Dangerously fast.

Her thighs tighten around his head when he goes back to sucking on her clit, which almost tips her over the edge. He can clearly see it in her face just how much she can take, because he alternates back to using his tongue, giving her short-lived reprieve.

When she feels him licking at her entrance, she cries out at a sudden bolt of pleasure deep inside, a pang of need for his skilful fingers to push into her the way he’s done countless times before. “Liam,” She pants out, pleading with him, hoping he’ll understand.

“You’re close, aren’t you?” He asks, before going straight back to his task at hand.

“Yes.”

“You need to say you surrender if you want to cum,” He stipulates, and gives her ass cheeks a squeeze as if to coax her into it.

“Liam, please,” She whimpers.

“Say it Fallon, or I’ll stop.”

“You say it,” She begs, “you know I can’t.”

“You absolutely can. You have 10 seconds.” He presses his tongue hard against her clitoris, licking once, “9,” twice, “8,” three times, “7.”

He sucks at the bundle of nerves again, prolonging it, taking up at least 3 more seconds, and it’s too much, _far_ too much. Fallon can feel her orgasm begging to be released, and it’s taking everything she has to keep it at bay, “4.”

There’s a choice she has to make – a really difficult one, and she isn’t sure what she’s going to decide until she watches as he dips his head once again, his tongue a mere second away from touching her before she blurts out, “Cherry.”

He pulls back immediately at the sound of her saying their safe word.

“You’re sure?” He asks, the lack of pressure causing her to whine out, craving more.

She only nods weakly in response, it’s the only energy she has left.

“Okay.” He says, casually and wipes his mouth and chin with the sleeve of his shirt, a simple move which _almost_ makes her pull him straight back to her once again, but before she gets the chance to, he’s moving further away, drawing on the handle and is climbing out, the door closing behind him with a gentle slam.

She stays precisely where she is, laying on the backseat, panting, desperate for air.

It only takes a few seconds until Liam reappears, sliding into the driver's seat, clipping his seatbelt and starting the engine.

She has the sense to turn her head after she pulls her dress back down, looking at his reflection in the rearview mirror, seeing him smirk at her, “Are you going to join me up here?”

“Just drive.” She returns, unable to move.

He throws her a quizzical look, but otherwise acquiesces to her request, “Alright.”

As they begin to pull away from the house, she breathes strategically through her nose and out of her mouth, trying to even her breathing whilst she simply stares at the grey ceiling of the car and attempts to process what the hell just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fallon's having a tough night, huh? 
> 
> Stay tuned to find out if anyone will ever actually surrender in this fic.


	7. Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A promise made usually only ever leads to a promise being broken. Which happens to end up being the case on Friday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other but they have to stop before the other one gets close to orgasm  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction).

“Don’t go,” Liam pleads with her, “please don’t leave me.”

He looks at her with those stormy-blue eyes, his expression sombre, and it tugs on her heartstrings, her chest aching for him; but not enough to make her give in.

“Liam...” Fallon begins, her voice pained, but isn’t sure where she’s going with her response.

She's torn.

On the one hand, she could yield to her fiancé’s request and stay, but that’s definitely the more difficult option of the two, especially when her gut instinct is telling her to get the hell out of this bedroom and run for the hills.

Get as far away from him as possible.

“Fallon, please, just stay,” he’s practically begging her now, and she feels her resolve crumbling every second that ticks by without giving him an answer.

She sighs, and knows he's watching her closely as she contemplates, assessing her reaction, hoping she isn’t going to walk out on him, “Liam, I don’t know if I _can.._.”

“Well, you know what?” he begins, “I’ve decided that I’m not giving you any choice,” he says, his tone low and dangerous before pouncing on her, pinning her body down to the bed, making Fallon squeal out in surprise.

“No, no, no, stop!” She shrieks between giggles as Liam’s fingers quickly slip through the slit in her robe and find their way to her bare sides, tickling at a spot he _knows_ is sensitive.

The brunette squirms uncontrollably underneath him, but Liam’s strength keeps her firmly in place, unable to escape him.

“Not until you agree to stay,” he stresses, giving her an ultimatum as he continues his relentless assault. It’s clear to her that he isn’t going to give in any time soon and she’s quickly losing air from her lungs from laughing so much.

“Liam!”

She hears him chuckle above her, chasing her writhing body with his fingers, “yield, Fallon!”

“Okay, okay, okay,” she manages to breathe out, conceding, unable to take the sensations any longer. Her laughter eventually begins to subside once Liam halts, and she looks up into his eyes, smiling, “fine. You win. I'll stay.”

He grins, wide and genuinely, and she knows instantly that she can’t hold a grudge against him for this –there’s a sparkle in his eyes she hasn’t seen there since they learnt of Laura’s deceit about Connor’s true father. He looks so freely _happy_ that it melts her instantly. Even if staying here is just going to make it all the more challenging to keep her hands off of him, she simply _can’t_ go now.

“Really?” He says it like he doesn’t believe her – like he can’t comprehend Fallon choosing to stay home with her fiancé rather than go to the office.

“Of course,” She responds and brings her hand up so that she can card her fingers through his hair, feeling him subtly lean into the touch, “I’ll always put you first.”

She suspects there’s more to Liam wanting her to stay home today just so he isn’t lonely. Being around Laura last night likely triggered some of those painful memories he holds of her to spring to the forefront of his mind. After what had happened immediately after they’d left the Van Kirk mansion, he hadn’t exactly had the opportunity to process anything.

“Well, I’ll make it worth your time,” he promises, and leans down to press his lips softly against Fallon’s. He’s gentle and warm, like the rest of his body feels above hers, and Fallon chases the feeling. She drinks him in, savours the feeling of his lips moving against hers, and she swears she’ll never get enough of this man.

“Oh?” She asks once he breaks the kiss, her eyebrow raised seductively, “what does _that_ mean?”

Liam hums in amusement, “not… _That,_ actually,” he says softly, “I promise to be good.”

With that not being the response she was looking for, she gently runs her finger-tips up Liam’s neck, grazing through the stubble under his chin.

“Well,” she begins, her tone sultry, intending to tempt him, “if you surrender, I’ll let you be _really_ bad.”

He smirks at that, “We both know I’m not going to do that,” he says matter-of-factly, causing Fallon to roll her eyes, “ _but_ , I do plan to do nothing but smothering you with love and affection all morning.”

Liam takes her by surprise again, rolling them so that they’re both on their sides, and she quickly finds herself comfortably nestled in his arms, their legs tangling together automatically. She has no time to react to the change of position before Liam is peppering her face with determined kisses, starting on her forehead, moving to her cheeks and eventually landing on the tip of her nose, making her breathe out a laugh.

“Why are you being so sweet to me?” Fallon asks, a curious expression on her face.

Liam pulls back, gasping mockingly, “you say that like I’m not sweet to you all the time.”

She tilts her head, throwing him an insistent, unamused look, “Liam…”

His eyes drop, focusing on the spot where his fingers are idly playing with a silky strand of her hair, and he sucks in a breath before admitting, “I feel bad about last night. I think I took things a little too far.”

Ah, last night. In the car, right outside his Mom’s house.

Fallon recalls it all too vividly.

Liam’s head between her legs, that crafty mouth of his playing filthy tricks on her, making her feel all kinds of incredible sensations. She’s never in her life been so close to an orgasm and actually had the will power to stop. It tells her one thing, she is more determined than ever to win this thing.

“Hey,” she says softly, encouraging him to look up, and continues once his baby blues meet hers, “I appreciate the concern, but you were just playing the game and, I’ll give it to you, you played it _very_ well.”

A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips, “regardless, it was pretty cruel to tease you so much. I imagine you’ll get me back for that at some point.”

Fallon smirks, “Oh yeah, absolutely. I am practically the queen of revenge, you have no idea what’s coming to you, Mr Ridley.”

He breathes out a laugh in response, “I look forward to it,” he says cynically, “in the meantime… It’s early, and I can tell you’re still tired, come here.”

Liam falls onto his back, his arms wide, inviting her to settle against his chest. She goes willingly, resting her ear against his ribcage to listen for the comforting thrumming of his heartbeat. His arms encircle her, keeping her steadily in place and Fallon lets out a contented sigh as the muscles in her body begin to relax against his. As she slowly drifts back to sleep, she feels his fingertips tracing idle patterns on her back, causing goosebumps to rise in their wake. At first, they just seem random, until her focus narrows in on the sensation and she realises he’s spelling something out, over and over again.

I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-

She’s asleep by the time he finishes the sentence, content that she knows precisely what letter he will write next.

~

“Sam is insisting we go downstairs,” Fallon announces, her phone in her hand.

“Nooo,” Liam responds, his arm reaching out from below the sheets towards the laptop resting on their bed, “just one more episode.”

“Liam we’ve almost watched the whole season in one go…” She begins, sighing as she sees three dots appear to indicate Sam is typing yet another message. She locks her phone, setting it to the side, forgotten.

“Exactly – almost!” Liam replies, “which is why we should just stay here where it’s warm and comfy.”

To further illustrate his point, he wiggles his body, burrowing himself closer to her.

She chuckles, casting her eyes down at the mop of dirty blonde hair just below her chin, Liam’s left cheek resting contentedly on her breasts.

“Yes, I can tell that you’re comfortable.”

He smiles widely, shifting to gaze up at her with an attempted innocent look on his features which she doesn’t buy for even a second. However, he hasn’t yet tried anything rated above PG-13, sticking to his earlier promise. So, she elects to hold her tongue from making any sarcastic comments that might ruin their up to yet, pretty perfect morning.

Her fingers card through his short strands, moving down to play with the hair at the nape of his neck where she knows he’s sensitive, and watches as his eyes close in contentment, settling back against her chest. It occurs to her that without hardly saying a word, he’s convinced her to stay exactly where they are as the opening credits to the next episode plays from her laptop.

She surrenders quickly to him, relaxing against the pillows, relishing in the feeling of their warm and pliant bodies entwined under the covers. That is, until a loud and unexpected rapping on the door makes them startle, both of them sitting up straight, their gazes fixated on the oak doors leading into the room.

“Get your asses out of bed and get downstairs, you two!” Sam’s voice protrudes through the door, making Fallon bark out a short laugh at Liam’s look of displeasure he throws her way.

“I told you he wanted our attention,” she elucidates.

The knocking continues.

“I am not leaving until you get out here!”

Liam groans, reluctantly dragging himself off of the bed, padding towards the doors and swinging them wide open to reveal Sam’s angry form.

“Wh-”

“-No time for questions,” Sam cuts Liam off, “I have everything ready, get some clothes on and meet me in the parlour in 10.”

He begins to turn away but doubles back to a somewhat startled Liam to add, “oh, and you’ll need dress shoes on. Fallon,” he shouts into the room towards her, “comfortable heels, and stop ignoring my texts.”

“I thought you would get the hint,” she returns, a sickly sweet smile on her face.

“I did get the hint, and I decided to completely ignore it. See you downstairs!”

Then he’s gone, striding back down the hallway, leaving them alone again.

Liam pushes the door closed, turning to look at Fallon with a raised eyebrow, “what on earth is he going to make us do?”

~

“So, we’ll start with a Viennese waltz,” Sam begins, hitting play on the remote in his hand to fill the large space with soft instrumental music.

Fallon stands directly across from Liam in the middle of the room, a few feet apart, stifling a laugh as her fiancé playfully rolls his eyes at Sam’s antics.

“Is this really necessary?” Liam asks and immediately regrets doing so when Sam throws him the most severe expression the couple have ever seen adorned on his face.

“This is for your _wedding,_ Liam,” the younger man stresses, “all eyes _and_ cameras will be on the two of you for your first dance, and you want it to be romantic, but well-rehearsed. No awkward shuffling like most couples do. You need to be elegant. Hence, the waltz,” he gestures towards the sound system, “plus, I am a _great_ dancer, so who better to teach you than me? Now, Fallon, I know you already know this routine so we’ll just have to teach it to Liam.”

Liam quirks an eyebrow, “are you all forgetting I grew up in New York as a debutante?”

He strides forwards, taking Fallon by surprise when his hand grasps at her waist and takes her right hand into his, his arm moving to precisely the correct angle as if it’s entirely natural for him.

“Trust me,” he says, looking her directly in the eyes as he leads Fallon to gently sway with him, “I know this routine.”

He’s strong and sturdy as he begins to move his feet in synchronization with her. This is a dance she practically has ingrained in her DNA since being young, and yet Liam has an air of poise about him that she’s never had the pleasure of experiencing before in any of her dance partners.

Of course, she shouldn’t be all that surprised. Liam was right, he grew up as a New York elite, despite hating the aristocracy of it all, he’d clearly been _good_ at it. The evidence is all in the way they flow so well together now, him twirling her around the room with ease, perfectly matching the song's tempo.

No wonder Laura is so constantly disappointed that Liam decided to take another route with his life, all Fallon can consider it as when he half dips her, gently but with concision, is that its pure talent. In Laura’s eyes, Liam threw it all away to travel the world and instead become a writer.

It also occurs to Fallon that they’ve never danced like this before, and considers that maybe it takes Liam back to the time of his past that he continually tries forgetting and running away from. Perhaps, she thinks, she isn’t dancing with Liam Ridley right now; she’s actually dancing with Jack Lowden.

That is until she manages to catch his gaze, and she feels him soften slightly. He becomes less rigid, less robotic, less like this is something he’s being forced into doing, almost like he’s doing it to win a competition. Instead, he slowly begins to smile at her, and something _switches;_ they’re no longer dancing in tandem because they’re both good at this dance, but because their souls are connected to one another.

A small giggle escapes her lips as he spins her around, her mind suddenly filled with chemicals, and something about it feels euphoric. They breathe the same air for a moment, lips only a few inches apart as she steps back, her hand on his neck and Fallon catches a sparkle in his eyes, leading her to believe that Liam might actually be enjoying this as much as she is.

Then, he does something she doesn't expect. A break in the routine that she isn’t used to and has only witnessed others doing. Something she’s always believed looks elegant and romantic but has never put enough trust in a dance partner to do. She spins as she’s supposed to, and as he pulls her back, he lifts her effortlessly into his arms, twirling them around the room.

She knows she is probably grinning like an idiot, but she really cannot bring herself to care. Right now, it’s just _them,_ moving in sync to the pretty music, and the rest of the world has simply melted away. He sets her down gently so that she can resume the routine, and she puts all of her trust in him as he dips her once again, this time lower, but she remains steadfast, staring into his blue eyes the whole time before they’re off whirling across the marble floor again.

Their eyes never leave one another, breaking only when Fallon spins for him. When the music begins to slowly fade, they come to a stop, their chests rising and falling quickly, trying to catch their breaths.

“That was beautiful,” Sam comments from the side-lines, reminding Fallon that he was there, “I think I’m gonna cry.”

She chuckles, leaning forwards to capture Liam's lips in a soft peck, “that was amazing, Liam,” she says as she pulls away. 

“Yeah?” He asks, his cheeks tinged pink at the compliment, “think our first dance is sorted?”

Fallon nods, “definitely.”

“You happy with that, Sam?” Liam questions the younger man, interrupting him as he was wiping the moisture from his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s good. Nice touch with the lift, by the way,” Sam comments.

“Thanks,” Liam replies, “Oh,” he raises his brows in response to the change of song, a more up-tempo, sensual tone filling the room. Liam grabs Fallon’s hand, spinning her again so that she’s pressed against his front, and whispers lowly in her ear, “how are you with the tango?”

She smirks, noticing the shift in the atmosphere, “I’ve done it once or twice,” she replies, her voice sultry.

“Yeah? Why don’t you show me what moves you’ve got?” He asks, and that’s all it takes to tempt her into the dance, tapping into that innate need in her to prove herself.

Fallon turns back towards him so their hips are aligned. She elongates her arm, him mirroring her, and takes him by surprise by lifting her leg, hooking it around the tops of his thighs as she lowers herself slowly, creating a pleasurable feeling of friction at her core.

Like setting a fire, a spark suddenly roars to life, the heat turning up to a hundred as Liam’s eyes bore into hers, and he grabs her hips and dips them low. Her hands slide up his arms, gripping at his biceps, until he pulls them back up and she moves her arms over his shoulders, ensuring to press her breasts against his chest.

The look in his eyes, the way his tongue quickly darts out to wet his lips, tells her he’s turned on by her sensually grinding against him; and the dance has hardly begun yet.

Liam adopts the classic dance stance, but they hardly part as he leads her backwards, their feet dancing light, quick steps as they twist and turn around one another. He’s definitely better at this than she is when it comes to the dance's technicality. Still, she has the advantage of being able to use her assets to her advantage, occasionally kicking her long legs high, grabbing his attention. Yet, he doesn’t falter once, despite his eyes growing increasingly darker.

Then, as he pulls her back to him, his hand clearly purposely missing her lower back to grasp at her ass, she finds she can’t help a quiet moan from escaping her lips. Her heart may be beating heavy in her chest, but that’s not the only pulsating she feels, her core clenching with need at the constant teasing of the dance.

She moves away from him, flirting as she keeps eye contact as she does so, the sudden loss of connection only charging the atmosphere, and like opposite ends of a magnet, they’re drawn back together, stepping in tandem once again.

Somehow, she finds her back pressed against his front again, and presses close, feeling a growing hardness against her ass, smirking at the clear effect she is having on him. She ensures to grind her hips a little to torture him before following the flow of the music and spinning away, throwing him a wink as she lets him retake the lead.

The music swells, increasing their steps' technicality, mirroring one another perfectly until the song eventually begins to fade. Fallon throws her leg around him once again, finishing in the same position they’d started in. A position Fallon really wishes they were naked and horizontal in, rather than clothed and in the middle of the manor.

All they can hear is the sound of their breaths filling the now quiet space, until Sam clears his throat awkwardly, causing them to break out of their trance.

“Okay well, that’s good but far too sexy for a wedding,” Sam comments distantly.

 _You’re telling me_ , she wants to say, but bites her tongue. Instead, she elects to escape from Liam’s arms, putting a safe distance between them. He lets her go easily, which tells her he isn’t about to take her to the bedroom and surrender. Which means she needs to get out of here. Now.

“I need some air,” she announces before turning on her heels and storming through the manor without glancing back, but is thankful that she doesn’t hear any footsteps following her.

Once she reaches her intended destination, she throws open a set of glass patio doors to step outside. She places her hands on the stone balcony and gasps in a breath of the cooling summer air, focusing on the landscape, looking out at the lake and surrounding forestry, and curses under her breath to pull herself together.

~

“What are you doing in here?” Sam asks accusingly as he walks into his bedroom, clearly not expecting to find Fallon sprawled out on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a frustrated look on her face.

“I’m avoiding Liam,” she replies, her voice devoid of emotion.

She doesn’t bother to turn her head when she feels the mattress dip next to her.

“Why are you avoiding him?” He asks, curiosity evident in his tone as he makes himself comfortable on the bed, “are you two fighting again?”

“No,” she sighs, taking a moment to contemplate her explanation, “it’s… Sort of the opposite of that problem actually.”

“Wait, what?” Sam asks, his brows furrowed, “surely if you guys were happy you wouldn’t be here, in _my_ room.”

She throws him an annoyed look, her eyes narrowing in on him, “this is actually all _your_ fault,” she accuses, making Sam’s jaw drop in surprise.

“What did I do?!” He asks, his tone pitched higher than usual.

“If it wasn’t for you needing advice about how to get over your dry spell-”

“Which, by the way, I now have, thank you very much,” Sam interjects.

“Ugh,” she throws her head back against the pillows dramatically, her anger bubbling, “that just makes it worse.”

“Wait. What does _my_ lack of a sex life have to do with… Whatever the hell is going on with you and Liam right now?”

Fallon crosses her arms across her chest, reluctant to confess the whole thing to Sam, knowing he’ll be incredibly judgemental. She opts to remain silent, pursing her lips tight, until he pushes just that little bit further.

“Fallon…?”

“Okay fine,” she snaps, “you remember how Liam was all _‘Fallon wouldn’t last a week without sex’?”_ She asks, attempting to mock Liam’s low tone.

“Honestly, I’ve tried to block out everything I saw and heard from that jacuzzi on Saturday night,” Sam responds, shuddering.

She elects to skip over that – Sam shouldn’t have come back home early anyway, it’s not her fault he heard them having sex out there.

“Well, he said it, and it was quite frankly _offensive._ So… We may have made a deal to not have sex for a week _unless_ one of us surrenders to the other,” Fallon says that last part quickly, like ripping off a band-aid.

Sam’s momentary silence is deafening, to the point where Fallon quickly looks his way to see a pensive expression on his features.

“Okay…” He begins, “so, what you’re trying to tell me is that you’re currently avoiding your fiancé… Because you’re horny?”

“Well, you don’t have to put it like that but, I suppose, in essence… Yes.”

He nods slowly, indicating his understanding, “and it’s Friday, which means you guys haven’t – you know - since Saturday…”

Not that she needs the reminder.

“Yes, that would be correct,” she responds, her voice clipped, and continues sarcastically, “awfully intuitive of you, well done.”

Sam raises his eyebrows, nodding slowly as he replays the last hour in his mind, jigsaw pieces finally fitting together, “that explains the dirty dancing you guys were doing earlier… Talk about being a third wheel. That was awkward as hell, by the way.”

Fallon rolls her eyes, “well I wasn’t exactly pleased about it either considering Liam _promised_ me this morning that he wasn’t going to try anything.”

“I’d argue that you’re the one who started it.”

“That’s irrelevant.”

“It really isn’t…”

“No, it is,” She stresses, speaking with a sense of finality. Sam falls silent, clearly concluding that this is one argument he isn’t going to win against Fallon.

They fall into an awkward silence as Fallon closes her eyes, breathing shallowly through her nose to try to keep her temper at bay.

“Just one question,” Sam says, interrupting her mid-meditation.

Fallon sighs, rolling her eyes before gritting out, “what?”

“How on earth are you managing to resist that Greek god of a man?”

“With _great_ difficulty,” She responds, “and he’s been working out a lot more lately, so his muscles are just so, big and… Yeah, and he has been taking every opportunity he can to not wear a shirt which I totally know he is doing on purpose.”

“Are you really going to tell me you haven’t tried the same tactic by being more naked around him than usual?” Sam asks, accusingly.

“Again,” she responds, hearing her phone ping next to her, “that’s irrelevant.”

She grabs the cell, opening her most recent message.

_From: Liam_

_(Received 18:30)_

_Can you come to the bedroom, please? I really need a hand with something._

“Ugh, that’s him…” She declares, sitting up slowly, her shoulders slumped with dejection, “I better go.”

She forces herself off the bed, making her way towards Sam’s door.

“Good luck!” He offers her, somewhat sarcastically, before she pulls on the door handle.

Her response is to roll her eyes at him and slam the door behind her.

~

“Hey.”

“Well, well, well,” Fallon says as she steps into their shared bedroom, closing the door behind her as she takes in the sight before her eyes, “when you said you wanted a hand with something I didn’t know you meant _this_ kind of hand.”

Her eyes trace over Liam’s form, lying on the bed, his neck straining, the zipper to his pants open as his hand slowly moves over what looks like a very prominent, and throbbing erection.

A wicked smile slowly spreads over her face as she saunters towards him. All trace of annoyance is gone as she realises Liam’s got himself caught in a terrible position for himself, one she is more than happy to take advantage of to encourage him to surrender to her.

He sighs, looking up at her once she reaches the edge of the bed, “this is your fault for... Gyrating all over me earlier.”

“Well, that was a whole hour ago, are you telling me you’ve been like this all that time?” She asks as she sits next to him on the bed.

Liam bites his bottom lip, his touch on himself lightening significantly, her presence likely having an even more amorous effect on him.

“Not quite,” he answers, “I tried to ignore it at first, and then I tried to distract myself... But I couldn’t, and now I’m, I need...” He stammers, clearly flustered.

“What you _need_ ,” Fallon interrupts, placing her smaller hand over his, halting its progress, “is for your fiancé to take care of you.”

He breathes heavily through his nose, clearly weighing his options, and finally removes his hand, allowing Fallon to take over.

“There you go, honey,” she says, her voice smooth as she grasps at the base of his cock and slowly slides her hand up to tease over his tip, “doesn’t that feel better?”

Liam groans out a reply, his head falling back against the pillows, his eyes closing, clearly enjoying the sensation of Fallon’s hand slowly working him up and down, twisting her wrist as she reaches the base of his shaft in the way she knows he loves.

She watches him closely, observing his features, recognising when she knows she’s done something especially pleasurable, like when she rubs the pad of her thumb over his tip before easing her fingers back down. He occasionally gasps, and she hears guttural whines in the back of his throat, and it turns her on like crazy.

But no, she denies herself. Right now, it’s about Liam, she has to play this game carefully. One false move and this whole thing could come crashing down. She needs to be subtle about it, work him up without him really noticing before he’s too far gone to be able to deny her.

Besides, she thinks, if she can make him surrender, her turn will come very quickly afterwards.

“Fal-” he groans out, his voice raspy and wrecked as her fingers squeeze a little tighter, making him leak a small amount of precum, which she collects with her thumb.

His eyes open in time to watch her flirtatiously bring her thumb to her mouth, sucking at the digit, the salty taste of _him_ hitting her senses immediately. She moans for emphasis, making it seem like it’s the most delicious thing she’s ever tasted.

He watches her with intensity, and she hears him take in a sharp breath when she pulls her thumb out of her mouth with an obscene _pop._ She wastes no time in wrapping her fingers around him again, this time working him with determination, creating more friction, making him hiss as his hips buck up into her hand.

“Slower, babe. You know the rules,” he breathes out as he attempts to compose himself, making Fallon raise her eyebrows in surprise.

 _The_ rules?

The ones that says she can touch him, but she isn’t allowed to make him cum unless he actually says the words, _I surrender?_

Fallon shakes her head in disbelief that he actually thinks he’s getting out of this without giving in. She elects to disregard the nagging voice in her head that reminds her she had managed to call things off seconds before she came last night in the car and instead has optimism that she’s got Liam at her mercy right now.

“I know you want more, come on Liam,” she bats her eyelashes at him, ensuring to pout, watching as his intense gaze remains fixating on her rouge lips, “I’ll tell you what, if you surrender, I’ll give you your birthday present early.”

“And what would that be?” He asks, his voice rough.

She smirks and presses closer so that her cleavage is pushing against his straining member. His eyes drop to the obscene image in front of him, his pupils blowing wider, his breath hitching in his throat, “let’s just say it involves your cock between my breasts until you cum.”

“Oh my god,” he drawls out, his eyes clouding over with lust.

“Mmhmm,” Fallon says, pressing down further and moving over his cock so that the tip slides between her breasts, “just say the words, baby.”

“Oh god,” he repeats, his head falling back as he squeezes his eyes shut, “ _fuck.”_

She thinks he’s only seconds away from breaking, his fists clenching, chewing hard on his bottom lip, but then the next thing she knows he’s slithering out from under her and is climbing off the bed.

“Where are you going?” She asks accusingly.

“I need a cold shower,” he replies, keeping his back turned as he strides towards the bathroom, “a very, very cold shower.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Fallon retorts, watching as he enters the bathroom and slams the door shut, leaving her bewildered and alone on the bed. She was so close, _he,_ was so close, there’s no way in her mind she could imagine him resisting her right now...

“Liam!” She shouts to him, but instead of hearing a response, she only hears the sound of the shower being turned on. Her head hangs low, letting out a loud sigh as she realises she’s missed her chance, “damn it!”

~

“Well that didn’t work,” Fallon announces, barging into Sam’s room without any regard for his privacy. Thankfully, he was just lounging on his bed with his phone in hand, probably scrolling mindlessly through social media.

“What didn’t work?” He asks, setting his phone down, “wait. I probably don’t want details.”

Fallon rolls her eyes at him, pacing the room, “what do you _think_?” She throws his way, her voice becoming increasingly higher pitched as she rants, “god, I cannot believe this! You know, I even offered to do what _all_ men want..”

“Anal?”

She gasps at him in an offended manner, “No! But do you think that might work?”

Sam shrugs his shoulders, “maybe. But if it wasn’t _that_ then what _did_ you offer him?”

Fallon chews her bottom lip, not wanting to outright say it, “look at my cleavage, and you can figure it out.”

“Ohhh,” Sam breathes out in realisation, “you offered to titty fuck him?”

She crosses her arms across her chest, hesitating for a moment before admitting, “yes, I did, okay? And he _still_ rejected me!” She feels that familiar demon stirring in her stomach, its claws digging deep into her skin, taking over her mind with paranoid thoughts. It’s an all too familiar sensation which feels like it cuts off her air supply and stops her from being able to breathe until she figures out some way to regain control of whatever situation she’s found herself in. They’re often trivial, and business-related, leading her to make impulsive decisions, making a small, usually fixable mistake, but _these_ thoughts are worse. These thoughts question everything she believes about her relationship with Liam and threatens her future.

Her head starts to spin, and she practically collapses onto the edge of the bed, “oh my god,” she says, the panic evident in her voice, “he doesn’t want me anymore.”

Sam furrows his brows, a confused expression plastered on his face, “please tell me you’re joking.”

“I am not!” She exasperates, and turns dramatically towards him, “Sam, I have tried _everything_. I’ve thrown myself at him, offered _many_ blowjobs, lured him into giving me a naked massage, gave him a foot job under the table at Laura Van Kirk’s house, and now _this,_ but still, nothing!”

Sam relaxes his features after being bombarded with so much unnecessary detail about their recent activities, and refocuses, trying to calm down his spiralling friend, “Fallon, he’s still getting a boner right?”

She sighs, pouting, “well, yes.”

“Then he still wants you,” he replies with confidence, “he is just playing really hard to get, and it’s clearly working. I mean, you are the kind of person who if you’re told you can’t have something, it only makes you want it more.”

She is still for a moment as she lets Sam’s words settle, and as she considers them, it slowly dawns on her what Liam’s been doing this whole time.

“You know what? You might actually be right for a change Sam.”

She chuckles as it all becomes abundantly clear, and quickly, she moves from a state of panic to strategy, something she is much more comfortable with, “okay then, Mister Ridley, you want to play hard to get? Oh, I am the _queen_ of hard to get.”

Sam’s eyes widen, “Oh god, what are you going to do?”

“Listen,” she begins, justifying herself “the _whole_ of the beginning of our relationship was exactly that. Liam clearly loves the chase, I mean back when I was still engaged to Culhane…”

She freezes, the perfect plan formulating in her mind at the mention of her ex.

“Oh, I know _exactly_ what to do,” she says with a salacious grin on her face.

“Wait, hold up.” Sam says, concern etched in his voice, “what exactly is your plan?”

Fallon shrugs nonchalantly, “I’m just going to remind him of those times, you know spark an old flame.”

“Fallon,” Sam groans, drawing out the syllables in her name, “this sounds like one of those things you do where you do something stupid and reckless, and it _always_ ends up backfiring.”

Her jaw drops, her brows furrowed, “first of all, rude. Not _all_ of my plans end up that way.”

“Well…”

“Not _all_ ,” she interrupts him, “ _and_ , second of all - not that it’s any of your concern - this is foolproof. Thank you, Samuel, thanks to you, I will have Liam surrendering to me by this time tomorrow. You’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what is Fallon's plan? Will it backfire or will she have Liam surrendering to her? Find out in the last chapter of "I surrender"... Coming soon.


	8. Saturday... Again.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the last day of the challenge, Fallon decides that the teasing is over. Time for a new tactic - playing hard to get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A reminder of the Rules of the Game:  
> 1\. Teasing is allowed.  
> 2\. Sexting is allowed.  
> 3\. Sending nudes/ sexy photos is allowed.  
> 4\. They must sleep in the same bed.  
> 5\. They’re allowed to touch themselves but they aren’t allowed to orgasm.  
> 6\. They’re allowed to touch each other but they have to stop before the other one gets close to orgasm  
> 7\. They have to treat the week the same as a regular week (E.g. no working extra hours just for distraction).

“Hey you, where have you been?” Liam enquires the second Fallon opens the oak doors to the bedroom, a multitude of shopping bags in her hands. She grimaces immediately, keeping her face hidden, knowing she was guilty of practically abandoning him all morning.

However, it was a necessary evil. The first phase of Fallon’s plan was already in full swing, as soon as she had comprehended that Liam’s strategy this whole time has been to tap into her defiant side of wanting what she can’t have, she’s been using it against him.

There are only subtle changes to her behaviour, like sitting in bed staring at her phone rather than putting her attention on him. It feels entirely unnatural to basically ignore her fiancé, including pretending she doesn't get butterflies every time he kisses her cheek when he exits a room. This morning was worse, waking before him and leaving their bed, resulting in him waking up alone.

It was _especially_ difficult now, walking in to see him almost completely naked, clad only in his boxer shorts. Her eyes automatically scan his body, taking in his damp hair, then travel down to his defined muscles, her heart rate suddenly spiking.

“Um,” her eyes flick back up to meet his, mentally scolding herself for so obviously ogling at him, “I had to pick up my dress for the fundraiser tonight.”

Fallon walks straight past him without giving him a second look, heading into her wardrobe to dump the bags. She regrets making that decision when she hears Liam follow after her, clearly heading there himself to dress after his shower.

She figures that if she avoids eye-contact and busies herself emptying the bags, she should remain calm.

“Did you have a good time?” Liam asks as he opens a few draws, pulling out his clothes.

“Yeah,” she responds, her tone devoid of emotion.

“Good,” He continues, zipping up his jeans once he pulls them on, “I missed you this morning.”

_I missed you too._

She resists the urge to turn and smile at him, walk over there and press her lips to his in the act of apology for letting him wake in a cold bed. In normal circumstances, she would have done just that; but these weren’t normal circumstances, and her time was rapidly running out.

“I just had a lot to do,” she explains, hanging up her short black dress for the evening and inspecting it.

“I can tell, you got your hair done too, right?”

She simply hums her reply as she scans her shoes, deciding which will go best with the outfit, but is quickly distracted by a body suddenly appearing directly behind her. There’s no time for her to react before Liam’s arms are encircling her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder, “It looks great, by the way,” he mumbles lowly into her ear, causing a shiver to run down her spine. 

All she wants to do is melt into his arms, lean her head on his shoulder, let his hands roam her body… But she knows she can’t. She _has_ to resist before she lets those wandering hands of his go too far.

“Yes, I know,” she replies sternly, squirming out of his grasp to resume her previous activities, “and I’d like it to stay that way, so don’t mess it up.”

“Okay, sorry,” he responds, his palms up in surrender.

She’s skating on thin ice here; she can feel it. It’s more like she is spoiling for a fight rather than trying to act like she isn’t affected by him, which is not the way this was supposed to go.

“I just, want to look good for tonight,” she clarifies.

“In _that_ dress?” Liam points towards the black mini-dress now hanging up, “You’ll look gorgeous no matter what your hair looks like.”

“I guess you’ll find out later,” she throws back.

Liam smirks, buttoning up his shirt, “oh yes, I will. I mean it’s only...” He glances at his watch, “nine more hours left, by the way.”

“Until?”

She knows what it’s until.

It’s nine hours until midnight, which is when this stupid challenge of theirs ends, which is likely what Liam is counting on. The problem is that wouldn’t mean both of them win, it means _none_ of them does. It means they aren’t capable of seducing one another in a whole week, and what kind of relationship is _that?_

No. It won’t be ‘nine’ hours… It will be much less than that.

“Until midnight,” Liam clarifies, “and we can... You know.”

She turns in time to see him waggle his eyebrows at her, which under normal circumstances would make her giggle. Instead, she just rolls her eyes at him.

“Right, _that._ Well, I guess its nine hours… If you’re lucky,” Fallon comments as she begins to walk past him, heading for the bathroom.

“What do you mean?” Liam asks, calling after her.

Fallon shrugs, turning back towards him “it’s going to be a busy night, Liam. I’ll be too tired for sex.”

She doesn’t wait for him to respond before she’s slamming the door in his face, and hopes beyond hopes that it was enough to make him rethink his plans to wait it out until midnight.

~

Liam comes up behind her as she applies the finishing touches to her rouge lipstick in the full-length mirror, whistling low as he takes in the sight of her.

“You look beautiful,” he comments, “when I said you’d look good in that dress, I didn’t know you’d look _that_ good.”

Fallon chuckles softly, replacing the lid to her lipstick with a satisfying _click_ , and throws it into her clutch.

“Will it bother you all night to know you won’t get to tap this?” She asks, turning to get a good look at her fiancé, her breath catching in her throat when she takes in his dark burgundy suit and black shirt.

_Damn, he looks good._

Thankfully, Liam was too busy looking at her well-exposed cleavage to notice her momentary slip-up. By the time his eyes meet hers, she’s wholly recomposed herself.

“Who says I won’t?” He challenges, his voice low and raspy.

“Well,” she begins, stepping towards him and speaks with confidence, “unless you happen to say those two little words, I can assure you that it won’t be happening.”

His eyebrows raise slightly at that, the corner of his mouth curling into a dangerous smirk.

“We’ll see where the night takes us, I suppose,” he replies.

“I guess,” she responds, ensuring to sound unbothered, despite a spark of hope igniting in her gut. Something about the look in his eyes tells her he’s planning something. Or maybe it was the slutty dress she’d picked out, either way, she’s pleased he’s clearly rethinking his whole ‘waiting it out’ plan.

“Speaking of, Amy Lee Pearson is coming tonight-”

Her eyebrows furrow, “who?”

“She wrote _The Fenchurch Murders,_ it was the biggest selling crime drama novel last year,” he pauses monetarily, noticing Fallon’s unchanged confused expression. “Okay, it doesn’t matter who she is, but what’s important is that she has some great contacts who could help with the book I’m currently working on.”

 _Oh no_.

He looks nervous.

She knows that Liam _hates_ networking and always prefers for her to be by his side in the rare occasions he is practically forced into it for the good of his career. However, for the plan to work, she needs to spend as much time away from Liam as possible tonight.

“Great, good luck with that,” she flashes a smile at him, ignoring the look of disappointment in his eyes, “you ready?”

“Uh, yeah,” he nods, a curious expression on his features, clearly a result of Fallon’s refusal to be there when he needs her. She swallows down a sickly feeling, trying to push away the thought that she was letting him down.

“Okay, let’s go,” she says quickly as she heads out of the bedroom, grasping at her clutch with both hands rather than taking Liam’s like she usually would.

“Is something wrong?” Liam asks as he manages to catch up with her halfway down the hallway, his hands securely in the pockets of his trousers.

Her heart feels like it skips a beat.

God, she hates lying to him. However, she reasons that she isn’t _technically_ lying, she’s just changing her tactic from teasing to, well, the opposite. It’s basically reverse psychology, and if it works - like it already seems to be doing - they’ll both be incredibly happy by the end of the night anyway, and all of this will be forgotten.

That justification in her head helps with swallowing down the guilt forming as a lump in her throat.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine,” Fallon responds, despising how easily that had rolled off her tongue.

“Are you sure?” He prods as they turn the corner, revealing the noise from the already bustling party happening downstairs, “you seem... I don’t know, stressed.”

She comes to a screeching halt and turns towards him, frustration evident in her tone of voice, “Liam, I said I am fine. Please don’t do that man thing where you keep pestering a woman who isn’t actually moody but the constant questioning actually leads to them becoming moody.”

He shakes his head in disbelief at Fallon’s outburst and places his hand on her forearm, a peace offering, “Fal, I was just concerned, sweetheart. But okay, if you say you’re fine, then I believe you.”

_God. Why does he have to be so perfect?_

He was making it really difficult for her to keep up this charade.

“Good. As long as we are clear on that. Now, can we go down to the party?” She asks, huffing out an annoyed breath. His hand drops from her arm, a hint of sadness creeping into his eyes, and immediately, the lump is back, lodged in her throat.

“Sure,” Liam answers, stepping back from her.

It doesn’t go unnoticed that he doesn’t attempt to hold her hand, touch her, or even glance her way for the rest of their journey to join the fundraiser's guests. She prays that it doesn’t set the tone for the rest of the evening.

~

Once they reach the already bustling foyer, they’re instantly pulled into a conversation with one of Blake’s business associates.

“Fallon, Liam, I hear congratulations are in order. Again. The big day must not be far away now,” the old gentleman comments, stopping them in their tracks.

Harvey Lauder. One of the significant shareholders of CA... He’s also one of the people they’d fooled with their first marriage to aid with the sale to VKI, which is slightly awkward. Now that the company is back in her Father’s hands, it makes sense that he’s here.

Fallon plasters on a false smile and uses her sweet voice in an attempt to keep the peace between them, “Harvey, long time no see. Yes, the wedding isn’t long at all.”

One glance at Liam shows he isn’t bothering to play along, and instead is staring at the man with suspicion. Harvey seems to pick up on it quickly, moving his attention to her fiancé.

“I have to say, in the short time that CA was under Van Kirk’s reign, I got the impression that your Mother isn’t too happy about this union. She seems to think that once you’re gifted your shares that you’ll ruin the company by constantly voting against her.”

Liam smirks, nodding his head subtly, a cockiness evident in his tone of voice, “And did that concern you when you bought 20% of VKI?”

Fallon’s eyes widen briefly, shocked at Liam’s boldness and forces herself to keep a straight face, especially when she glances at Harvey who looks genuinely offended and caught completely off guard with Liam’s question.

“Well, I...” The older man stammers, clutching a tumbler of whisky tighter in his grip, his anger revealing itself in his body language.

“-If it’s any consolation, Mr Lauder, your assumption is probably correct,” Liam continues, a smirk on his face. “Let’s just say I won’t be voting for things like dodgy deals with Moldavian Royalty. If that ruins the company, then perhaps the directors will just need to pursue more ethical practices to please me.”

_Fuck, that was so hot._

Fallon catches herself quickly, noticing that she’s chewing on her bottom lip and is breathing shallower due to witnessing Liam verbally square up to her Father’s associate.

Harvey smiles slowly, cat-like and incredibly false, “I suppose so. Well, I hope you both have a good evening.”

Liam returns the smile, but is _much_ better at faking it, “thanks man, you too.”

“Have a good evening,” Fallon has the sense to return as the businessman walks away, leaving the two of them alone.

Liam follows the man’s progress, eyeing him as he approaches a group of men that all appear a similar age. “What an ass,” he comments to her under his breath.

Fallon finds she’s still slightly in a daze as she thinks about how much she wants to pull him into a nearby room right now, get on her knees and give him the best blowjob of his life. It wasn’t exactly all that often Liam behaved in such a way, but when he did, the chemicals in her brain reacted to it entirely against her will.

Which was a problem.

A _huge_ problem, considering she is supposed to be acting like she isn’t turned on at all by him. Yet, the air feels stuffy and like it’s choking her right now, and she knows she needs to put a safe distance between herself and Liam, preferably sooner rather than later.

“Yeah, this room is filled with them,” she returns before planning to make her exit, “anyway, I’ll be at the bar.”

Before she even gives him the chance to respond, she’s gone, striding towards the temporary bar, feeling like she can breathe a little easier every step she takes away from him.

~

“There you are,” Sam says, approaching Fallon as she returns to the bar for another drink, “Liam’s been looking everywhere for you.”

“He has?” She asks, not bothering to hide her excitement. For a whole hour since practically abandoning him at the party she’s been avoiding him, mingling with people she genuinely despises, all for the greater good of her relationship, “what did he say?”

“Oh, Fallon,” Sam sighs loudly, making his displeasure known as he reads her facial expression, “you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Avoiding him so he’ll come looking for you.”

She shrugs as she takes a sip of her martini before setting it back down on the counter, “well, it’s clearly working. You know what they say, Sammy, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Yes, but in this case, the absence is making the heart sad,” Sam emphasises, a pout on his face, “he is miserable without you by his side, and he said he really needed you to go talk to this big author, but you blew him off.”

“Well, I...” She thinks for a moment and recognises that lump in her throat reforming, a sense of intense guilt overcoming her, “yeah, I suppose that was kind of harsh.”

“Kind of harsh? You let him down, Fallon, and for what? So your pride doesn’t get hurt and to win some dumb challenge that’s over tonight anyway?” Sam asks, accusingly, annoyingly assessing the situation with exact precision and calling her out completely.

“I know, alright? Yes, okay, I shouldn’t have blown him off when he needed me, and there are only 4 hours left until midnight. I can put my competitive nature aside for him.” She begins to straighten herself up, “I’ll just go over there, apologise, and be right by his side.”

“Good,” Sam comments, “he’s in the drawing-room talking to her already, it was only like 5 minutes ago so you can probably still catch them before they get into business-talk.”

“Okay, thank you,” she nods and hurriedly grabs her purse before making her way to the drawing-room as quickly as possible, weaving her way through the crowd.

Sam was right. It was selfish of her to not help Liam just in the hopes of winning this competition between the two of them. Besides, not helping was probably only going to lead to him being disappointed in her, which wouldn’t have the desired effect anyway. This felt like the right thing to do.

As she approaches the entrance, she cranes her neck to locate him, scanning the busy room.

The second her eyes land on him, however, her blood suddenly boils at the sight she sees before her, her stomach churning.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she mumbles to herself.

The author is young, _much_ younger than Fallon had expected for a crime novelist, and is wearing a tight black silky number with long blonde hair cascading in waves down her back which she keeps tossing every time she laughs at something Liam has said. Her body language can only be described as flirtatious as she gently places a hand on Liam’s forearm, smiling widely at him, batting her long eyelashes as he speaks.

Fallon can’t hear what they’re saying from where she’s standing, but whatever it is she’s sure it’s not as funny as what the author is making it out to be. Her movements appear exaggerated, meant to appeal to the opposite sex, and Fallon hates to admit this, but she knows for sure that this intelligent, book-loving blonde is exactly Liam’s type.

So this is the way her fiancé retaliates to her avoiding him at this party for an hour? He _flirts_ right in front of her, her friends, her family, her associates, all to get back at her? She shakes her head, crossing her arms defiantly.

Not that Liam is exactly overtly flirtatious back, but he for sure is allowing this Amy woman to shove her cleavage in his face as she gets a little closer to him and Fallon for sure does not see him backing off.

“Alright, that’s it, missy,” She continues as she watches the author lean up to whisper something into Liam's ear, and Fallon’s claws well and truly come out.

She makes a start towards them, prepared to mark her territory and ensure the lady backs off, until a thought worms it’s way into the forefront of her mind, and she halts metres away from them.

Maybe Liam had planned this.

It was awfully convenient of Sam to convince her to go find him, knowing the two were talking. Plus, Liam _knows_ she would get jealous and likely predicted she would storm over there and make sure the author was aware that Liam had a fiancé by throwing herself at him. Maybe he even hoped she would surrender to lure him away from the skank.

She scoffs in disbelief, convincing herself utterly of her theory, and decides to not give Liam the satisfaction of being correct. So instead, she turns quickly on her heel and storms her way through the crowd back to the bar, where, luckily for him, Sam is nowhere to be found.

Rather than searching for him, she elects to stay where she is, knowing that once Liam was finally done talking to his new, hot author friend, he would be able to locate her easily. Then she can confront him.

~

It’s been thirty minutes.

In which time Fallon has managed to piss off two guests, “accidentally” spill her drink down her brother's suit, and offend her mother’s choice of outfit. Needless to say, she was beginning to take her frustration out on anyone who happened to cross her path.

She now has an invisible ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign painted on her back as she sits alone at the bar, stirring her drink absentmindedly, getting lost inside her own head.

That is, until she feels a sudden pressure at her back, breaking her out of her trance.

“Babe,” she turns her head to look at her fiancé who is grinning widely, his cheeks slightly flushed, and that only makes the sting of his betrayal hurt more. It has nothing to do with the fact it’s warm in here, she decides. “Amy is fantastic, I told her about my book, and she loved the idea...”

Fallon scoffs, looking straight ahead again, “I’m sure she did.”

Liam scrunches his brows together, picking up on the passive-aggressive tone of her voice, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

She shakes her head, breathing out a humourless laugh as she meets his gaze again, “it means that you could have come up with a plot on the spot and she would have said she loved it. You gave her your number, right?” she asks accusingly as if to prove her point.

“Well, yes,” he responds, “for her to pass it onto her editor. He’s one of the best editors in the world, Fal. This could be really big for me.”

“I’m not denying that Liam, but did you really have to flirt with her?” She asks, “and in front of me?”

“Excuse me?” Liam blinks at her, shocked and offended, “I wasn’t flirting with her at all.”

“Oh please, she was all over you,” she exasperates, the image of the two of them in the crowded room springing to the forefront of her mind, “don’t even try to deny that you did that to make me jealous.”

Liam shakes his head, “so, let me get this straight, you’re not only saying that my book wouldn’t stand on its own merits and I have to essentially whore myself out to get it to be successful, but _also_ that I would purposely do all of that to hurt you?”

“To hurt me? No. To trick me into surrendering? Yes.” She waits, assessing his expression, looking for evidence that she’s caught him out. To his credit, he gives nothing away and only looks at her in disbelief. She figures his acting skills are progressing.

“Are you kidding me?” He asks, incredulous.

It only infuriates her, making her next words tumble from her mouth without a thought, “I told you not to deny it! You know what? Just leave me alone, and maybe you should think about changing your tactic because I’m telling you now, your current one isn’t working.”

She grabs her purse and rushes away, getting lost in the crowd with no specific destination in mind, ignoring Liam calling after her.

~

This night was a complete failure.

She was supposed to be tempting her fiancé into trying to win her attention and affection right now, not having a fight with him in the middle of a party.

The truth of the matter was that she wasn’t even mad at _him,_ he was only playing the game. Instead, she was more frustrated with the situation and how nothing was going to plan.

It meant that she only had one more card up her sleeve, something incredibly risky. Yet, Liam had basically used the same tactic against her, so in essence, it wasn’t _that_ bad.

She scans the room, noticing Liam stood with Sam in the far corner and tries to ignore the way her heart squeezes at his forlorn expression. Her eyes dart away before he catches her staring, and lands on her target.

A small crowd is already beginning to gather near the makeshift stage in preparation for Blake’s speech at the stroke of the hour. Within that crowd, was Michael Culhane, and he may just have the ticket to salvaging the disaster of this night.

She approaches slowly, standing by his side, facing the stage, and waits for him to notice that she’s there.

“Good night, Fallon?” He asks, glancing down at her.

“Well, if you can call pissing off the majority of my family members and fighting with my fiancé in the middle of the party a good night, then it’s going swimmingly,” she responds with sarcasm, making her ex bark out a laugh.

“I’d ask ‘what have you done now?’ but I don’t think I want to know,” he admits.

“That’s probably for the best,” she replies with a smile, “these parties usually suck anyway, so it’s not exactly a surprise.”

“I don’t know,” Culhane throws her a smirk, “they used to be kind of fun.”

She chuckles lightly, strategically playing her hand on his bicep, “I think you are thinking about the times we snuck away from these parties,” she says, raising her eyebrows at him suggestively.

“Oh, well, yeah, maybe,” Culhane responds, throwing her a wink which she giggles at, shifting closer to him as she does.

“You look good, by the way,” she flirts coyly.

“Fallon?” Her eyes widen at the sound of her fiancé’s voice appearing next to her, and she has to force herself not to overreact despite her brain screaming at her that it _must_ be working, why else would he be here? “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

She mentally calms herself, attempting to appear nonchalant as she replies, “no, sorry, I’m talking to Culhane right now.”

“It will just take a second,” he responds, an impatience to his tone.

She’s struggling to contain her excitement; _this_ is precisely the response she was after from him, to see her flirting with her ex, resurface some old feelings and have him come over here to whisk her away.

Yet, she wasn’t willing to make it that easy for him.

“Well, the two of us are busy reminiscing about the old times,” she responds, throwing him a curveball, playing hard to get.

Liam sighs, causing her to snap her head round to look at him as he says, “oh, well, my apologies for interrupting.”

Then in a split second, he’s walking away.

Her heart stops.

He wasn’t supposed to walk away.

“Wait, Liam,” she runs after him, grabbing at the sleeve of his jacket, forcing him to turn around to look at her. The moment she looks up into his eyes, she _knows_ she’s hurt him. Badly. “What were you going to say?”

“It really doesn’t matter now,” he responds, his voice clipped, to the point, “trust me.”

He turns again, pulling away from her grip, but she darts around him so that they’re facing one another. In desperation, she puts her palms over his forearms, silently begging him to stay put, “No, Liam, I think you ought to say it.”

She can fix this. She just pushed a _little_ too far, but she can turn this around.

At least, she believes that, for a fleeting moment, before Liam looks her in the eyes and all she can see reflected back in them is pain and frustration.

“Would you just be real with me for a second?” He begs, forcefully tearing his arms away from her touch, “Fallon, did you honestly think that flirting with your ex to make me jealous was going to work? You _know_ I’m not that kind of guy, don’t make me out to be.”

She stands, stunned and offended as her mind instantly reminds her of the reason for their earlier fight, “well maybe _I’m_ not that kind of woman, and yet you still did it! It hurts, doesn’t it?”

Liam rubs his hand across his face, groaning slightly before continuing, “I already told you I wasn’t flirting with her Fallon, I would _never_ disrespect you like that, I thought you knew that? I wanted you by my side to meet her, but you were off doing god knows what, so I approached her alone, and it turned out we once had the same editor. You remember, the one I told you about who forced me to write a self-help book and then published it under a woman’s pseudonym? She had some stories of her own to share, and she didn’t want the whole room to hear, considering he has contacts everywhere. She was just _nice._ Plus, do you _really_ think I would flirt with a woman when her husband was in the same room?”

Fallon’s face falls flat, “husband?”

“Yeah,” Liam confirms, and points towards a couple standing near the stage – the author, and a young, handsome man at her arm. The two of them appearing quite obviously very happy and in love.

Her throat suddenly feels dry.

“Oh no.”

“You know what, Fallon? Even if I had flirted with her to make you jealous, she is a stranger. That’s completely different to flirting with a guy who you were with for four years, almost married and who you rejected me for.”

The break in his voice completely crumbles her resolve, she’s fucked up. She’s fucked up, _badly._

“Liam-”

“This whole thing, this stupid little challenge we started, it was just supposed to be _fun,_ I should have known you’d take it too far. That’s why I came over here, I was going to tell you that I surrender before one us gets hurt.” Liam looks down for a moment, a small, melancholy smile tugging at the corner of his lips, “but I guess I was too late.”

His words feel like a dagger plunging straight into her heart.

He’s right. Of course, he’s right, how could she have not seen it? It’s like her judgement was completely clouded, and to make it worse, Sam had even warned her that this was going to happen.

Why does she keep doing this? Why does she keep letting her fears and insecurities rule her head and lead to making these impulsive decisions?

Now she’s gone and hurt the man she loves the most, and all she wants to do is make it better, but he’s moving away from her.

She knows the bitter truth is that if she doesn’t do something quickly, this will have a lasting, damaging effect on their relationship.

Yet, when she calls out to him, all he does is respond with, “don’t, Fallon. I’m just going to leave,” and continues to make his way through the crowd.

_No, no, no, he can’t leave._

She tries but fails to follow him, given that the crowd is suddenly surging forwards towards the stage, and she’s finding it impossible to make her way through the wall of people.

They trap her, the claustrophobia only increasing her panicked state over the massive mess she’s made and doesn’t know how to fix.

“Hi, everyone and welcome to this Fundraiser for the Atlanta Sunrise Charity. My family and I hope you’ve been having a wonderful evening.” Fallon rolls her eyes as Blake’s voice echoes through the manor, _great_ timing to start the speeches just as her fiancé is leaving her.

Or, maybe it’s perfect timing.

The second the idea formulates, she bolts for the stage, pushing her way mercilessly through the crowd. She doesn’t hesitate to run up onto the platform and yank the microphone away from her father, ignoring his cry of anger at her cutting him off mid-sentence, and instead, she brings the microphone to her own lips.

“Liam, I surrender.”

Her eyes land on him, now halted at the sound of his name, and she watches as he turns to look at her.

“You were right, okay?” She admits, focusing solely on him, “everything you said was right. I _did_ let my pride overcome my judgement, and I took things way too far, and I know that I hurt you, which I swear was never my intention.”

Thankfully, he begins walking closer, the crowd parting to let him through and it sparks a small amount of hope that he’ll at least hear her out.

“You have every right to be mad at me, honey, I am so, so sorry. All I can do is apologise, and tell you that I love you more anything, and hope that you can forgive me.”

Liam eventually makes it to the edge of the stage, only metres away from her, but it’s difficult to read his expression, and she’s unsure if her words are having any effect on him.

“You mean the world to me, Liam,” she continues, “I mean it when I say that I would surrender _everything_ for you in a heartbeat.”

She ignores the crowd who erupt in a chorus of “awws”, her attention focused only on Liam, hoping he can see in her eyes that she means every word.

Every second of waiting for him to do or say something in response is like torture. She feels her gut twisting, her heart racing in her ribcage until _finally_ , he speaks.

“Fallon put down the microphone.”

His hand is offered out to support her down from the stage, which she takes willingly after carelessly throwing the microphone back into her father’s hands.

“Let’s go somewhere a little more private,” Liam whispers into her ear once she’s joined him, taking her hand and leading her through the crowd.

Distantly, she hears Blake offer an apology for her interruption.

“Did I just say that in front of all of these people?” She whispers to him, actually processing what had just happened.

Liam chuckles as they begin making their way up the stairs, “yes, unfortunately, you did, but the good news is, I’m pretty sure they had _no_ idea what it was about.”

She supposes that’s true. Still, ‘I surrender’ was quite a strange thing to say to your fiancé in front of a whole crowd of people and would definitely have everyone gossiping about it for the next few days.

“Besides,” Liam continues as they finally reach the landing and pulls her partway down the corridor, so they’re out of view, “we won’t be sticking around for people to inquire.”

Fallon looks at him, quizzically, “what do you mean?”

Liam smiles, calming her nerves slightly, “thank you, for that speech. It was very romantic.” 

She tilts her head, her gaze softening, “I meant every word.”

“I know you did, and of _course_ I forgive you,” he replies softly, stepping closer to her, almost predatory like. She can feel a shift in the air as he continues, speaking lower, “now, with your permission, I am going to take you to the bedroom and absolutely ruin you.”

Fallon glares at him, smirking slowly as she realises the gravity of the situation. She surrendered. _Finally,_ it was all over, and Liam clearly has no plans to waste a second of his victory.

She surges forwards without another thought, crashing her lips to his, feeling Liam’s arms circle her waist immediately, pulling her closer.

They kiss desperately, all groping hands, sharing one another’s air. Their lips move hungrily against one another, and Fallon feels like she can’t get enough. They’re too clothed and too far away from the bedroom.

They part as she begins to pull them backwards, and Liam breathes a laugh against her lips, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Her hands begin to roam over his chest, busily undoing the top buttons of his shirt, “you can take that as a hell yes,” she returns.

Liam grins before grabbing her like he’s let all of his inhibitions go, and they resume their kiss as he presses her against the wall.

It’s possible she feels a painting move behind her, but the thought quickly evaporates when Liam’s lips find her neck, and it immediately feels _so, so good_. She gasps as he sucks at one of her most sensitive spots, her hands flying up to his hair, carding through it, lightly pulling on the short strands appreciatively. 

She takes the opportunity of his distraction to push off his jacket, working it down his arms, prying his hands from her body momentarily, until it hits the ground, left abandoned in the hallway. Liam’s hands quickly return to squeezing over her ass cheeks, which pulls her even closer to him.

When his mouth leaves her neck to capture her lips again, she pushes herself from the wall, and they stumble backwards, managing to make a little more progress down the corridor, turning the corner.

They giggle as they knock into a side table, causing them to break apart for a moment, watching as they see the lamp previously resting on it crash to the ground, shattering.

“Oops,” Fallon comments, looking back at the mess.

“It’s fine, we’ll buy a new one,” Liam comments before taking advantage of his palms on Fallon’s ass, lifting her onto the side table, losing her heels in the process. 

Fallon chuckles softly as she opens her legs, grabbing hold of his shirt collar with both hands and forcefully yanks him to her, resuming their earlier kiss. Her legs tangle around his hips, their crotches aligning, moving together subtly as they kiss passionately, a promise of what’s soon to come.

She feels Liam’s fingers tangle in her hair, and he pulls gently, forcing her to angle her head upwards so that he can deepen the kiss. His tongue teases against her lips, begging for entrance, which she offers as she moans into his mouth, getting lost in the sensation of him all over and so clearly wanting her, desperately.

Her brain shifts over to autopilot, overcome with nothing but the need for more, and her hands land on his belt, urgently undoing the buckle. She wastes no time in pulling on the leather, freeing it from the belt loops and drops it carelessly, hearing it clatter to the floor.

“Eager, are we?” Liam teases between kisses, making Fallon smirk up at him.

“Says you,” she throws back, feeling Liam fumbling with the zipper at the back of her dress.

“Touché,” he growls back, his voice low and raspy as Fallon tugs on his shirt, pulling out from his pants so that she can work on the remaining buttons.

As soon as she’s managed to fumble them open, she impatiently pushes open the fabric, fully revealing his chest and abdomen. She can’t help but run her fingers gently down him, marvelling at his hard work, “God, you’re gorgeous,” she breathes out, glancing up at him, seeing him roll his eyes at her compliment. Fallon brings a hand up to cup his cheek and stares intensely into his eyes, “ _so_ gorgeous. You know that, right?”

As she expected, a blush creeps over his skin which she finds incredibly endearing. “As long as you think so,” he returns with a charming smile.

“Oh trust me,” She begins and leans forwards, placing hot kisses on his pecks, admiring how she leaves bright red imprints of her lips behind like she’s leaving her signature on his skin, “I think so.”

He catches her chin, tilting her face up so that he can capture her lips again, the kiss being softer than they have been, their mouths moving together in a relaxed rhythm.

“Alright, come on,” Liam says against her lips, apparently becoming impatient and uses his strength to pull her down from the side table, setting her down on the ground. She giggles at his eagerness and goes to press kisses against his neck whilst he walks them backwards, and _finally,_ they reach the doors to their shared room. Fallon wastes no time fumbling with the handles behind her, swinging the door open wide. Her lips detach from his neck to meet his eyes, giving one another a knowing look.

She pulls them into the room with haste, taking hold of his open shirt whilst Liam has the mind to push the door closed before Fallon is tugging the shirt over his shoulders and down his arms.

“Much better,” she says, smirking at his now topless figure.

Liam raises an eyebrow at her, a dubious look on his features, “there’s something uneven going on here,” he comments, making reference to fact Fallon’s still fully dressed.

“Do something about it then,” Fallon responds, her voice low and sultry.

“Oh, I plan to,” Liam returns, chasing her. His hands find the small of her back, pulling her towards him as their lips meet in the middle. His palms travel up, gently pulling down the zipper of her dress, exposing her bare back.

His fingertips lightly run down her spine, making her moan quietly against his lips at the sensation, goosebumps rising all over her body. He works on getting her dress down her body, letting it fall to the floor, now wearing only her matching black bra and panties.

“We’re uneven again,” she jokes as they pull away from the kiss slightly, trying to catch their breaths.

“Do something about it then,” Liam returns, cheekily using her earlier words against her.

Fallon smirks up at him before quickly taking him up on his offer, her fingers going directly to his crotch, unzipping his pants and immediately palms him through the opening, feeling how hard he already is.

“Fal,” Liam groans out as she massages at the hardened bulge, leaning forwards to suck the lobe of his ear into her mouth, feeling him shudder under her touch.

She begins to feel hands at her back, landing on the clasp of her bra.

“No, no, no,” Fallon scolds, hitting his arm so that he halts his progress, “what did I just say?”

“Well, you were taking too long,” Liam responds, going back to his previous task, unhooking the strap with ease and impatiently pulling the bra off her, flinging it across the room carelessly.

“You naughty man,” she reprimands.

“I know,” he says as he walks her backwards until the back of her knees hit the edge of the bed. She feels pressure against her shoulders and the next thing she knows, she’s horizontal, the mattress below her, causing her to yelp out in surprise. She chuckles as she looks up at the ceiling, realising she’s usually the one to do that to him, and eventually lifts her head to look his way, seeing him smirking down at her.

“Well, now who’s the gorgeous one?” He asks before climbing on the bed himself, planking over her and immediately pressing his lips against hers. Fallon pushes up against him, their previous desperation returning with a hot, heated kiss, yet now they’re skin on skin, and it’s _so_ much more gratifying.

Just as she’s beginning to feel lightheaded from a lack of oxygen, Liam pulls back to trail kisses all the way down her body, moving down the bed as he goes, and eventually ends up on the ground, on his knees. Without mercy, he grabs Fallon’s hips, yanking her closer to him, parting her legs so that he’s nestled between them. He nuzzles at her inner thigh, giving her small kisses as he slowly makes his way towards her core, and just that alone makes her bite down on her bottom lip in anticipation.

“Liam,” she whines, looking down at him, “I thought the teasing was over.”

She hears him chuckle lowly, “you’re right,” he admits, looking at her with dark eyes, “you’ve waited long enough.”

He takes Fallon by surprise, clutching onto her panties and tearing the lace, his impatience turning her on even more.

“Eager, are we?” Fallon teases, copying Liam’s earlier words back to him, and watches him grin right before he presses his lips down and sucks at her most sensitive spot, wiping all thoughts from her mind. She groans out, low and satisfied as that skilful tongue of his explores, first stroking over her clit then moving further down, lapping at her already soaked entrance.

“God, babe,” she moans out, her head falling back, getting lost in the sensations he brings to her using the technique he knows she loves so much. He alternates between sucking hard on her bundle of nerves then pressing his tongue flat against her, rolling it to create friction. It feels like he sets all her nerve endings alight, her whole body reacts to him, and she can’t help stroking a hand over her left breast, squeezing herself and toying with her hardened nipple.

Liam must see her touching herself and moans his approval, the vibrations intensifying the pleasure at her core, and she gasps out loud as her walls flutter appreciatively.

Almost like he reads her mind, he knows what she needs next.

She feels a finger at her entrance, and breathes out a shaky, “yes,” before he pushes in, immediately making a start on moving in and out of her, and it’s all she needs for the pleasure to start pooling, her orgasm on the horizon.

Of course, by now he doesn’t need to read her mind, he reads her body instead, hears the way her moans turn into whines, and it’s all the indication he needs. Liam can play her like a violin, attentive to her tune and that’s why, without a doubt, he’s the best lover she’s ever had. 

“Do you want more?” Liam enquires, increasing the speed of his middle finger stroking against all of those spots inside her that make her head spin.

“Yes,” Fallon whines out, her hips beginning to rock, meeting the rhythm Liam had set.

“What’s that?” He asks, slowing down a touch, much to Fallon’s displeasure.

“Yes _please_ , babe,” she responds immediately, not caring to withhold begging. She already surrendered to him tonight, her inhibitions are out of the window, and besides, she trusts Liam wholly to be submissive to him like this.

She’s granted her wish as another finger joins, and she relishes in the feeling of the pleasure doubling. Her right hand automatically reaches out, her fingers stroking through the strands of Liam’s dirty blonde hair, tugging slightly as his mouth resumes its previous task against her core. Fallon knows his scalp is sensitive and isn’t surprised when she notices his free hand palming himself and the sight of him being so turned on by her drives her crazy.

Her breathing increases as the pleasure gradually begins to spike, and Liam is relentless. His fingers aren’t gentle as they move in and out of her, _exactly_ the way she desires it right now.

“Liam, I’m close,” she whines out, grasping even tighter to his hair, silently begging for him to continue.

“Don’t worry, baby,” He curls his fingers, hitting her G-spot perfectly, sending a shiver of pleasure up her spine and making her cry out, “you can cum this time.”

“Just keep doing that,” she begs, closing her eyes as she gets lost in the sensations, “just like that.”

Liam’s free hand moves from his crotch to her right breast, joining Fallon’s motion of teasing her nipple, making her moan out loudly.

It doesn’t take long before she feels her muscles clenching, reaching the crescendo, “Liam, I’m- _Fuck,”_ she gasps, seeing white as her whole body is overcome with intense heat, pleasure reaching an all-time high as she feels her walls pulsating around his fingers.

“Oh my god,” she whines out, startled by how intense her orgasm is, her whole body trembling at her fiancés' will.

“That’s it,” Liam coaxes, keeping his fingers moving in and out of her, drawing out every last bit of pleasure that he can, “that’s a good girl.”

As she begins to relax, her limbs melting against the bedsheets, her brain buzzing with endorphins, Liam slows, giving one last kiss to her core, making her whole body jerk. She breathes out a laugh, smiling down at him.

She needed that release, _badly._ However, she couldn’t deny that waiting a whole week, being so close, so many times was sort of worth it for how great it felt when she was finally able to cum. And yet, she doesn’t feel satisfied, not in the least, if anything it’s just made her hungry for more – hungry for the _real_ thing.

“Liam Ridley, get your ass here and take off those damn pants,” she commands, watching him smirk as she climbs backwards so that her head is now resting on the pillows. She watches him get to work quickly, toeing off his shoes, taking off his suit trousers, and _finally,_ pulling down his boxers, letting his straining cock free.

Fallon curls her finger at him, making a come-hither motion, instantly wrapping her hand around his length the second he’s close enough, Liam grunting out his approval. Her legs part, inviting him to settle in the cradle of her hips and he clambers over her willingly, a smile on his face as he wordlessly places kisses against her neck.

“That was all very generous of you, but I feel like I’ve neglected you,” she comments as he nibbles on her earlobe, her hand moving over his hard member at a leisurely pace.

“I decided pretty early on that if you ever surrendered, I’d make it worth your while,” he whispers into her ear, “did it live up to your standards, babe?”

“It was amazing,” Fallon returns, elongating her neck as he returns to her pulse point, sucking on the skin, “but I need _you,_ I need to feel you.”

He twitches in her hand at her confession, his lips detaching from her neck to look down at her, their eyes meeting. A hand sweeps into her hair, a delicate touch, “I love you,” he declares.

Her heart flutters.

After the disaster that was the night, that’s exactly the words she needs to hear. 

“I love you too- _hmph,”_ Liam cuts her off, their mouths slotting together perfectly and her free hand moves to the back of his neck as they deepen the kiss. She moans against his lips as she guides him to her entrance, and he pulls back just enough to silently ask for permission, which she grants with a subtle nod of her head. Then, he’s pressing into her, filling her up, making her feel whole.

Her hand flies to his back, her fingernails digging into the muscles as she gasps at the sensation.

“God, I missed you,” she breathes out, their foreheads touching.

It may only have been a week, but this was the way she felt the most connected to him, to her _soulmate._ It wasn’t ‘just sex’ with them, it never has been.

“You too, baby,” Liam replies, kissing her forehead before moving his hips, stirring inside of her, making her clutch tighter to him and moan out in ecstasy.

They shift slightly, her ankles hooking around his waist before he begins to set the rhythm. Gradual, at first. Sensual, as Liam pins her hands to the pillows beside her. Her hips move with his, meeting his thrusts, which drives him deeper inside of her.

She doesn’t bother to hold back being vocal, them both panting loudly, filling the room with the sound of skin meeting skin.

It doesn’t take long before Liam intertwines their fingers, giving Fallon the chance to squeeze every time he hits a sweet spot inside of her which he makes sure to repeat three or four times before changing angles, keeping things interesting.

“You feel amazing, Fal,” Liam pants out, snapping his hips a little harder, “we are never waiting that long again, ever.”

She hums in agreement, throwing her head back against the pillows, “do that again.”

“This?” He asks, pulling almost all the way out of her before driving back in relentlessly, making Fallon practically see stars, pleasure bursting beneath her eyelids.

“Yes, _fuck!”_ She screams out, “that.”

Liam moves a hand to grasp at the top of the headboard, using it to increase his speed as he begins thrusting into her with controlled determination. Fallon’s own hand quickly grabs at his ass, working in tandem with him to bring pleasure to them both. Any and all coherent thoughts are thrown out of her mind, all she cares about is Liam, more of him, more of _this._

God bless the fact that her bedroom was far away from the rest of the guests right now, because between the sounds of the headboard banging loudly against the wall, their moaning, and her screaming out his name, their current activities are unmistakable. Not that she would care if they could hear them. She didn’t care about _anything_ right now, except biting down on Liam’s collar bone and licking up the drop of sweat running down his chest.

“Ah, Liam,” she whimpers out as his right hand untangles from hers and goes to caress her breast, and her back arches up into him, their bodies even closer than before.

Her hand ends up joining his against the headboard as she feels herself shifting up the bed, and that’s when it hits her that her second orgasm has been building steadily. Liam must figure that out when her fingers claw down his back, leaving pink marks in their wake, and in response, he uses both hands to grasp at her hips, increasing his speed to drive into her mercilessly.

She pulls hard on the headboard above her to change angles slightly, crying out when the tip of his cock brushes against her now swollen G-Spot. It distantly registers that she hears a crack come from somewhere, but doesn’t stick around to contemplate it when her fiancé moves to plank over her, pushing a hand between them to rub at her clit.

“Oh god, oh god, I’m close,” she pants out, her arms circling his neck, grasping onto him tightly and hiding her face against his chest.

“Come on, sweetheart, cum for me,” Liam growls out, snapping his hips and dipping his head to suck on her neck.

It builds, and builds, and builds.

“Liam, Liam, Liam,” she chants, “ _ah, fuck-”_

Her body stills, and she topples over the edge, her walls contracting around him, much harder than her first orgasm, “don’t stop,” she begs.

Like he would.

Liam grits his teeth, using every ounce of willpower he has to keep going without cumming himself, stopping only when Fallon melts in his arms, gasping to catch her breath against the pillows.

She feels him pull out of her and rests his forehead against her chest, breathing through his nose and out of his mouth, attempting to compose himself. Without much thought, as she still rides her high, she cards her fingers through his hair, soothing him.

That is, until she returns to her senses, her heart rate slowing, and realises that they’re far from done here.

“Your turn,” she announces, taking Liam by surprise when she flips them so that she’s sitting on his lower abs, her ass pressing against his still very hard and throbbing cock.

He looks up at her with admiration, taking in the way her curls tumble over her shoulders and down her body, a look of bliss on her face from her two releases. Yet, there’s also a sense of determination in her as she bends to take his left nipple into her mouth, swilling her tongue around it, keeping eye contact with him the whole time.

She hears his breath hitch in his throat, and moves over to his right nipple, repeating the same action until she feels it harden against her tongue. Her goal now was to make him feel as good as she could make him feel.

His hand comes to cup her cheek, pulling her towards him, silently asking for a kiss. Fallon acquiesces quickly, running her fingers through Liam’s hair as their mouths press against one another.

They’ve slowed, but the atmosphere is just as intense and romantic as before when Fallon dips her tongue into Liam’s mouth, kissing him deeply. His fingertips dance up her thigh and sweep across her bare back, sending shivers down her spine.

Their kiss quickly turns heated, especially as Fallon grinds her hips, her wet core sliding across his straining member, making Liam involuntarily buck his hips. Fallon giggles against Liam’s mouth, loving the effect she has on him.

She decides to have mercy on him, breaking the kiss with a _smack_ of their lips, and reaches back, taking him into her hand, pumping a few times to hear him groan out her name. Her other palm is placed on the middle of his chest, her fingers splayed where she can feel the strong and steady rhythm of his heartbeat below her palm. She uses it to keep herself steady as she lifts slightly to sink down onto his cock, the two of them sighing in satisfaction as she does so.

Fallon takes him all the way in and stirs her hips in a circular motion, whimpering at how sensitive she already is.

“Babe, if it’s too much…” Liam begins, but Fallon cuts him off with a kiss.

“I’m fine, sweetie. I’m fine.”

To demonstrate that fact, she grinds her hips again, lifting almost all the way off of him and slamming back down, savouring the look on Liam’s expression as she does so. She just needs to start moving again, which she does quickly, aided by Liam’s hands gripping onto her hips, helping her establish a rhythm that works for the two of them.

It only takes a few minutes for that sensitivity to work in her favor, quickly turning into a carnal pleasure yet again, like the two of them can’t get enough of each other. They become so lost in the act that the world could be ending and neither one of them would notice. It’s just them, bergamot and leather cologne mixing with rose water, pheromones and love declarations cried out in the throes of passion.

Liam sits upright, bringing Fallon into his arms, changing the angle, and she can’t help throwing her head back momentarily, feeling his cock hit her G-spot, crying his name out.

 _Fuck,_ she was going to cum again. Soon.

She chases the feeling, moving against him hastily, savouring the feel of him sliding home over, and over again at her will. They keep going like that, holding tightly onto one another as they move in tandem. Her mouth explores, kissing every inch of his skin she can reach, settling on his shoulder, and she bites down hard as he takes her by surprise by thrusting up into her. It’s possible she draws blood as she shivers in his arms, her walls beginning to flutter around him.

Fallon pulls away, pushing him back down onto the pillows and attempts to concentrate, keeping her orgasm at bay until Liam’s ready, which she finds it really hard to do when he plants his feet on the bed so that he can meet her thrusts, driving deep into her.

“I’m not going to last long if you keep doing that,” she warns, her movements faltering, becoming sloppy.

“That’s my plan,” Liam explains, “don’t worry, I’m close.”

_Oh, thank god._

“Together?” She asks, panting.

“Together,” Liam agrees.

She looks him in the eyes as they work together to reach their climax, increasing their speed, making Fallon fall forwards slightly, gasping out.

“Let go, Fal, I’ve got you,” Liam says, holding her hips tight, and that’s all the permission she needs, her hips still meeting his thrusts as she rides her orgasm. It only takes a few flutters of her walls around Liam for him to grab hold of her, thrusting into her hard until his hips still deep inside of her.

“Fuck, yes, Fallon,” he groans into her ear.

She feels him spill into her moments before collapsing against his chest, her whole body completely weak, unable to move.

It’s possible she blacks out for a moment, because the next thing she knows, she’s on her side and feels Liam trying to pull out of her, but she clenches and whines, “no, no stay.”

“Okay, okay,” Liam whispers, moving her leg so that it’s over his thigh and moves a strand of her hair from her sweaty forehead, placing a sweet kiss there.

“Thank you,” she whispers back weakly, wanting to remain connected to him for as long as possible.

“Fallon, you okay?” Liam says, blowing on her face slightly, tickling her nose. It wakes her up a little amongst her rush of hormones.

She flutters open her eyelids, meeting Liam’s baby blues, smiling softly at him, “yeah, I’m okay. Well, actually, I’m better than okay.”

He returns her smile, “okay good,” he whispers back.

“Your hair’s messy,” she comments, her eyes glancing up at his unruly mop of dirty blonde hair sticking out at every direction.

“So’s yours,” Liam responds, making her giggle, feeling drunk despite not drinking nearly enough at the party to have such an effect on her. No, she’s just riding the high of three incredible orgasms after a week of what she can only describe as torture.

“So,” Liam begins, “do you think it was all worth it?”

“Hmm, I mean _that_ was great, and I do have to admit, I have been having some fun this week,” she confesses, “but we are _never_ abstaining from sex ever again.”

Liam breathes out a laugh, “yeah, I’m good with that.”

“Good,” She says before pressing forwards, meeting his lips in a soft victory kiss, their tongues rolling together lazily as she feels Liam tracing patterns on her back, occasionally groping her ass. Somewhere in the back of her mind, there’s a niggling thought that she definitely has enough left in her for a round two, that is if Liam’s up for it.

For now, though, she is more than happy to lay here with him, basking in their shared happiness, slowly making out with him.

After about five minutes, they eventually break apart for air, Fallon resting her face in the crook of Liam’s neck, breathing in his unique scent, her body relaxing.

“Fallon?” Liam’s voice breaks through her reverie.

“Hm?” She answers back.

“Does that look wonky to you?” He asks, forcing her to meet his gaze, seeing him nod his head at the space above her.

She furrows her brows, tilting her head upwards to follow his line of sight and gasps, “oh my god, we broke the headboard.”

“You mean _you_ broke the headboard?” He throws back.

“I did not!” She exasperates, having no memory of doing such a thing. Besides, Liam was the strong one, on the law of averages, there is much more chance of it being him than her.

Liam raises an eyebrow at her, “you _definitely_ did.”

“There is no way that I- _oh god ah,”_ Liam cuts her off by stirring inside of her, smirking at her reaction, “you’re hard again,” she breathes out.

“Yeah,” Liam confirms, doing it again, making her gasp out loud, “wanna see what else we can break?”

Does he even need to ask?

“God yes,” She replies before crashing her lips to his, pulling him so that his weight is on her. 

~ The End ~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this story and the lovely comments you've left me throughout. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this last chapter and the slight twist as to who and why one of them surrendered.


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